Plaintiff David Weiner (“Plaintiff” or “Settlement Class Representative”) alleged that Ocwen over-charged borrowers for certain property valuation expenses, known as Broker Price Opinions (“BPOs”) and Hybrid Valuations (“Hybrids”), which Plaintiff alleges contained undisclosed “mark-ups.”

Ocwen denies Plaintiff’s allegations and all alleged wrongdoing associated with Plaintiff’s claims. The Court has not decided who is right or wrong. Instead, the Parties have agreed to the Settlement to avoid the costs, risk, and delays associated with continuing this complex and time-consuming litigation.

The lawsuit is named David Weiner v. Ocwen Financial Corporation, et al., No. 2:14-cv-02597-DJC-DB (E.D. Cal.) and is pending before the Honorable Daniel J. Calabretta in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The Settlement Class consists of all persons who fall into the following categories:

1. Nationwide Settlement Class: All residents of the United States of America who have or had a loan serviced by Ocwen Financial Corporation or Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC (together, “Ocwen”) and who paid for one or more BPOs or Hybrids charged by Ocwen through Altisource, from November 5, 2010 through September 29, 2017, the date of the class certification order in this action. 
2. California Settlement Sub-Class: All residents of the State of California who have a loan serviced by Ocwen and to whom charges for one or more BPOs or Hybrids were assessed to their mortgage account by Ocwen through Altisource, from November 5, 2010 through September 29, 2017.
    

Excluded from the Settlement Class are Defendants’ officers, directors, and employees; Defendants’ affiliates and affiliates’ officers, directors, and employees; Defendants’ distributors and distributors’ officers, directors, and employees; Released Parties; judicial officers and their immediate family members and associated court staff assigned to this case; and all those otherwise in the Settlement Class who or which timely and properly excluded themselves from the Settlement Class.

If you are not sure whether you are a Settlement Class Member, or have any other questions about the Settlement, please review the Settlement Agreement on the "Important Documents" page or call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-888-995-0316.

If approved, the Settlement will provide compensation and other valuable benefits to Settlement Class Members. These benefits include:

• A $60 reimbursement for each BPO fee that Settlement Class Members paid during the class period (November 5, 2010 through September 29, 2017);
• A $70 reimbursement for each Hybrid fee that Settlement Class Members paid during the class period (November 5, 2010 through September 29, 2017); and
• Reversals and/or credits for any California “Assessed” Sub-Class Members who continue to have loans serviced by Ocwen, in the amount of $60 for each BPO and $70 for each Hybrid fee that was assessed to the Member during the class period but for which the Class Member has not paid.
• Defendants’ modification of disclosures to borrowers in valuation-related correspondence and reports, and in any applicable fee schedules, to identify, as applicable, the “reconciliation” service added by vendors to BPO and Hybrid products.

You must timely submit a valid claim to receive a settlement payment. The Claim Form asks for basic information and takes just a few minutes to complete.

To submit your claim online, visit the "File a Claim" page of this website. If you received a Postcard or Email Notice and provide your Unique ID from that notice, you will not need to provide any documentation when you submit your claim. If you do not have a Unique ID, or if the Settlement Administrator is unable to verify the information in your claim, the Settlement Administrator may request supporting documentation that identifies your specific home loan for which Ocwen provided services.

If you would prefer to submit your Claim Form by mail, you can download and print the necessary forms from the "Important Documents" page of this website or request a hardcopy form to be mailed to you by calling 1-888-995-0316 or emailing info@OcwenFeeSettlement.com. For faster claims processing, you may submit your claim online.

Additional information about what documentation is needed for your claim can be found on this website. You can also call the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-995-0316. 

Submit claims online: by clicking on the "File a Claim" page

Submit claims via mail:

Ocwen Fee Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91338
Seattle, WA 98111

Submit claims via email: info@OcwenFeeSettlement.com

The Settlement Administrator will calculate the payment amount for each timely and valid and complete Settlement Claim, and send out payments after the Settlement’s “Effective Date.”

The “Effective Date” will depend on when the Court enters its order finally approving the Settlement and its Judgment, and whether there is an appeal of the Judgment.

Please continue to check this website after the Final Approval Hearing for information concerning the timing of Settlement payments. The Court has currently scheduled the Final Approval Hearing for September 19, 2024.

In a class action, one or more people called “class representatives” sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All these people are a “class” or “class members.” When a class action is settled, the Court resolves the issues in the lawsuit for all class members, except for those who request to be excluded from (or “opt out” of) the class. Opting out means that you will not receive benefits under the Settlement. The opt-out process is described in detail in the next section of this FAQ.

If the Settlement becomes final and you did not exclude yourself, you will release Defendants and the Released Parties from liability for all Released Claims and will not be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against them or anyone else having to do with the issues in the lawsuit. Under the Settlement, “Released Claims” are defined as follows:

[A]ny and all claims, causes of action, suits, obligations, debts, demands, agreements, promises, liabilities, damages, losses, controversies, costs, expenses and attorneys’ fees of any nature whatsoever, whether based on any federal law, state law, common law, territorial law, foreign law, contract, rule, regulation, any regulatory promulgation (including, but not limited to, any opinion or declaratory ruling), common law or equity, whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, asserted or unasserted, foreseen or unforeseen, actual or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, punitive or compensatory, as of the date of Final Approval, which are included in or relate to the Action (“Settlement Class Released Claims”).

Under the Settlement, you are not releasing your rights or ability to participate in or pursue remedies in relation to any future conduct concerning the servicing of your residential loan.

The Settlement Agreement at Section III-A describes the Released Claims in necessary legal terminology, so read it carefully. The Settlement Agreement is available on the Important Documents page of this website.

You can talk to one of the lawyers listed in Question 12 below for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

If you do nothing, you will not get a payment from the Settlement. See Question 4 above for information on how to get a cash payment from the Settlement.

You will also be bound by all terms of the Settlement, which means you will not be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Ocwen or anyone else having to do with the legal issues in this case.

If you wished to exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must have written to the Settlement Administrator about why you wished to exclude yourself from the Settlement by July 12, 2024. The deadline to exclude yourself has passed.

No. If you did not timely submit your request for exclusion or failed to include the required information in your request for exclusion, you will remain a Settlement Class Member and will not be able to sue the Defendants about the claims that the Settlement resolves. If you did not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will be bound like all other Settlement Class Members by the Court’s orders and judgments in this class action lawsuit, even if you do not file a claim.

No. You will not get money from the Settlement if you excluded yourself. If you excluded yourself from the Settlement, do not send in a Claim Form asking for benefits from the Settlement.

Yes. The Court has appointed the law firm of Baron & Budd P.C., to represent Settlement Class Members as Settlement Class Counsel. Their contact information is as follows:

Roland Tellis
Baron & Budd, P.C.
15910 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1600
Encino, CA 91436
Tel.: (818) 839-2333
Email: rtellis@baronbudd.com

If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Settlement Class Counsel asked the Court to award reasonable attorneys’ fees, plus reimbursable litigation costs, for litigating this case and securing this nationwide Settlement for the Settlement Class. A copy of this request is available on the "Important Documents" page of this website. The Court must approve Settlement Class Counsel's requests for fees and costs before it is paid.

If you wished to object, you must have written to the Settlement Administrator about why you did not agree with the entire Settlement or any part of the Settlement by July 12, 2024. The deadline to object has passed.

Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class and do not want to receive any benefits under the Settlement or release any of the claims resolved by the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the Settlement no longer affects you.

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement, the requested fees, and/or costs. You may object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. You do not need to submit a claim to object, but if you make an objection, you must still submit a claim to receive compensation under the Settlement.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on September 19, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. PT, in Courtroom 10 of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, Robert T. Matsui Courthouse, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

At the hearing, the Court will consider whether to give final approval to the Settlement and grant Settlement Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as reimbursement for Settlement Administration Costs. We do not know how long these decisions will take.

No, you do not need to attend the Final Approval Hearing. Settlement Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. If you wish to attend the hearing, you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you submitted an objection to the Settlement, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it, but you have the option to do so if you provide advance notice of your intention to appear (see Question 18 below). As long as you submitted a written objection with all of the required information on time with the Court, the Court will consider it. You may have your own lawyer attend at your expense, but it is not required.

Yes, you could have asked the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must have filed with the Court, by on or before July 12, 2024, a notice of intent to appear at the Final Approval Hearing. The deadline has passed.

You may contact the Settlement Administrator for more information by emailing info@OcwenFeeSettlement.com, calling toll-free at 1-888-995-0316, or writing to Ocwen Fee Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91338, Seattle, WA 98111.

For definitions of any capitalized terms used here, please see the Settlement Agreement, available on the "Important Documents" page of this website.