Dumas v. Paradise Exteriors LLC

The Court authorized this Settlement Website because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of a class action lawsuit. You have legal rights and options you may exercise before the Court decides whether to give Final approval to the Settlement, as described below. The Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Palm Beach County, Florida is overseeing this class action. The Litigation is called Dumas v. Paradise Exteriors LLC, Case No. 50-2023-CA-016414-XXXA-MB.

Plaintiff Dumas claims that Paradise Exteriors violated the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when they made telemarketing calls to cellular telephone numbers using pre-recorded messages without consent. Paradise Exteriors denies these allegations.

In a class action, one or more people called "class representatives" (in this case, Ryan Dumas) sue on behalf of a group of people who have similar claims. The people together are a "Class" or 'Class Members." The individual who sues - and all the Class Members like them - is called the Representative Plaintiff. The company that they sue (in this case, Paradise Exteriors) is called the Defendant. In a class action, the Court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.

The Court decided that the Litigation can be a class action because it meets the requirements of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.220(b)(2) and (b)(3), which governs class actions in Florida state courts.

The Court has not found in favor of Representative Plaintiff or Paradise Exteriors. Instead, the Parties have agreed to a Settlement. By agreeing to the Settlement, the Parties avoid the costs and uncertainty of a trial, and if the Settlement is approved by the Court, Class Members will receive the benefits as described on this Settlement Website. Paradise Exteriors denies all legal claims in this case but is settling to avoid the uncertainties and costs attendant with Litigation. Representative Plaintiff and his lawyers think the proposed Settlement is best for everyone who is affected.

The Settlement includes the following Class that the Court certified: "All users or subscribers to cellular telephone numbers that were contacted by Defendant from November 1, 2021 through April 30, 2022 after having been supplied as referrals by existing customers of Paradise Exteriors. For purposes of Settlement the Parties estimate the class consists of approximately 2,435 individuals."

You may be part of the Class if you received a telemarketing call from Paradise Exteriors and:

• Your name and phone number appeared in calling records obtained for this case, in which case you may have received a Notice postcard from the Settlement Administrator.
• Even if you did not get a postcard, you may still be part of the Class if your cell phone number appears in the calling records obtained for this case. If you would like to check your cell phone number against the calling records, please call the Settlement Administrator at (833) 630-7894 and provide your name, cell phone number, and a current email.

If you are still not sure whether you are included, you can call the Dumas v. Paradise Exteriors LLC Settlement Administrator at (833) 630-7894. Or you can get free help by calling the lawyers in this case at the phone number listed in question 24.

Paradise Exteriors has agreed to a Settlement Sum of $1,400,000.  The Settlement Sum will be used to pay all Settlement costs, including Settlement Administration Expenses, any attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses awarded to Class Counsel by the Court, and all Approved Claims.  Members of the Class who submit Approved Claims shall receive an amount not to exceed five hundred and seventy five dollars ($575.00), less each Class Member’s share of any attorneys’ fees and Expenses. In the event that claims exceed a certain threshold the amount will also be reduced by each Class Member’s share of Settlement Administration Expenses. Only Approved Claims will be paid.  Only one claim per Class Member per telephone number will be validated and deemed an Approved Claim. There may be tax consequences to the Class Member associated with this recovery.

If you qualify for a Claim Settlement Payment, you must complete and submit a valid Claim Form. You can file your Claim Form online at www.paradisefloridasettlement.com or send it by U.S. Mail to the address below. The deadline to file a Claim online is 11:59 p.m. PST on September 11, 2024.

Claim Forms submitted by mail must be postmarked on or before September 11, 2024, to:

Dumas v. Paradise Exteriors

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

PO Box 5324

New York, NY 10150-5324

No matter which method you choose to file your Claim Form, please read the Claim Form carefully and provide all the information required.  

Payments to Class Members will be made only after the Court grants Final Approval to the Settlement and after any Appeals are resolved (see “Final Approval Hearing” below). If there are Appeals, resolving them can take time.  Please be patient.

If you do not want benefits from the Settlement, and you want to keep the right to sue or continue to sue Paradise Exteriors on your own about the legal issues in this case, then you must take steps to get out of the Settlement. This is called excluding yourself – or it is sometimes referred to as “opting-out” of the Class.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must send a timely letter by mail to:

Dumas v. Paradise Exteriors

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

PO Box 5324

 New York, NY 10150-5324

Your request to be excluded from the Settlement must be personally signed by you, be dated, include your full name (or, if a business, business name), address, and the telephone number that allegedly received calls from Paradise Exteriors during the Class Period, and must clearly state that the Person wishes to be excluded from the Litigation and the Agreement. Absent excluding yourself or “opting-out” you are otherwise a member of the Class.

Your exclusion request must be postmarked no later than September 11, 2024.  You cannot ask to be excluded on the phone, by email, or on the website.  Opt-outs must be made individually and cannot be made on behalf of other members of the Class. 

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue Paradise Exteriors or any of the Released Parties for the claims that the Settlement resolves.  You must exclude yourself from this Settlement to pursue your own lawsuit.

Unless you opt-out of the Settlement, you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit against Paradise Exteriors or any of the Released Parties about the issues in this case, including any existing litigation, arbitration, or proceeding.  Unless you exclude yourself, all of the decisions and judgments by the Court will bind you. 

The Settlement Agreement is available at www.paradisefloridasettlement.com.  The Settlement Agreement provides more detail regarding the Release and describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions in necessary, accurate legal terminology, so read it carefully.  

No. You will not get a Claim Settlement Payment from the Settlement Sum if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

The Court has appointed Avi Kaufman to represent the Class. He is called "Class Counsel." He is experienced in handling similar class action cases. More information about these lawyers, their law firms, and their experience is available at https://kaufmanpa.com/. 

You are not required to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf.  If you want to hire your own lawyer, you certainly can, but you will have to pay that lawyer yourself.  If you do hire your own lawyer, they may enter an appearance for you and represent you individually in this case. 

You do not have to pay Class Counsel, or anyone else, to participate. Instead, Class Counsel intend to request attorneys’ fees in an amount not to exceed one-third of the Settlement Sum, plus reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred pursuing the claims on behalf of the Class.  The fees and expenses awarded by the Court will be paid out of the Settlement Sum.  The Court will decide the amount of fees and expenses to award. 

If you are a Class Member (and do not exclude yourself from the Class), you can object to any part of the Settlement. To object, you must timely submit a letter that includes the following:

1. A caption or title that identifies it as “Objection to Class Settlement in Dumas v. Paradise Exteriors LLC”
2. Your name, address, and telephone number;
3. The name, address, and telephone number of any attorney for you with respect to the objection;
4. The factual basis and legal grounds for the objection, including any documents sufficient to establish the basis for your standing as a Class Member, including the phone number(s) at which you received call(s) covered by this Settlement;
5. Identification of the case name, case number, and court for any prior class action lawsuit in which you and/or your attorney (if applicable) has objected to a proposed class action settlement; and
6. Submit yourself immediately to discovery and/or deposition by the parties.

If you wish to object, you must mail your objection to: 

Dumas v. Paradise Exteriors

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

PO Box 5324

 New York, NY 10150-5324

Your objection must be received by September 11, 2024.

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement.  You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself.  Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement.  If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing on September 19, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET, in the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Circuit, Palm Beach County. The hearing may be moved to a different date or time, or may be set for remote appearances, without additional mailed notice, so it is a good idea to check www.paradisefloridasettlement.com for updates.  At this Final Approval Hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will also consider the requests by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and expenses.  If there are objections, the Court will consider them at that time.  After the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement.  It is unknown how long these decisions will take.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. You are welcome to attend the Final Approval Hearing at your own expense.

If you attend the Final Approval Hearing, you may ask the Court for permission to speak if you have timely objected and you so choose.  However, you cannot speak at the Final Approval Hearing if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

If you are a member of the Class and do nothing, meaning you do not file a timely Claim, you will not get benefits from the Settlement.  Further, unless you exclude yourself, you will be bound by the Judgment entered by the Court.