The Court directed that the Notice be provided because you have a right to know about a proposed settlement that had been reached in this class action lawsuit and about all of your options before the Court decided to grant final approval of the Settlement. As the Court has approved the Settlement, the Settlement Administrator appointed by the Court will distribute the payments that the Settlement allows. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, what payments are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Court in charge of this case is the Superior Court of the State of Washington, County of King. The case is known as Michael Aaland v. Contractors.com LLC, and One Planet Ops Inc., Cause No. 19 2 24212-4 SEA (the “Action”). The person who filed the Action is called the Plaintiff and the entities they sued are called the Defendants.

The Action claims that Defendant sent the Text Messages in violation of the Washington State Consumer Protection Act. The Action seeks, among other things, payment for persons who received such Text Messages.

Defendant has denied and continues to deny all of the claims made in the Action, as well as all charges of wrongdoing or liability against it.

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (in this case, Michael Aaland) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. Together, all these people are called a Class or Class members. One Court and one judge resolves the issues for all Class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiff or Defendant. Instead, the Plaintiff negotiated a settlement with Defendant that allows both Plaintiff and Defendant to avoid the risks and costs of lengthy and uncertain litigation and the uncertainty of a trial and appeals. It also allows Settlement Class Members to obtain payment without further delay. The Class Representative and his attorneys think the Settlement is in the best interest of all Settlement Class Members. This Settlement does not mean that Defendant did anything wrong.

You are a part of this Settlement as a Settlement Class Member if you meet the following definition, approved by the Court:

All residents of Washington state with a cellular telephone number to which at least one electronic commercial text message was transmitted by Contractors.com, or someone acting on behalf of Defendant. The Settlement Class is defined to include all persons who could claim to have suffered any injury or could assert any claims as a result of the sending or receipt of Text Messages to the mobile telephone numbers listed in Exhibit 5 of the Parties’ Settlement Agreement.

If you have received this notice, then you have been identified as a person who may have received such a Text Message.

Yes. Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class are: (i) Defendant and its officers and directors; (ii) all Settlement Class Members who timely and validly request exclusion from the Settlement Class; and (iii) the Judge assigned to evaluate the fairness of this settlement. The deadline to be excluded from the Settlement Class was October 18, 2021, and has passed.

The Settlement provides payments to people who submit valid claims. Defendant is obligated to make a payment of $774,500.00, inclusive of all funds necessary to effectuate the Settlement other than internal costs incidental to providing the leads described below. The Gross Settlement Payment includes the Settlement Administration Costs, the Fee Award and Costs, the Class Representative Service Award, and all Individual Settlement Payments to Settlement Class Members who submit a timely and valid Claim Form. Persons who submit a timely and valid claim will be entitled to payment of at least $120 and up to $1,500, depending on the number of claims received. The deadline to file a claim was October 18, 2021, and has passed. The total amount of any unclaimed funds will be paid to the following charity: Downtown Seattle Association.

In addition, Defendant will also provide codes for six (6) redeemable leads. Each lead is valued at $50.00. In the postcard or email notice, each Settlement Class Member will receive a unique code to redeem the free leads. To redeem leads using the unique code, call 1-888-691-3561. You will be asked to provide information that will allow Defendant to tailor the Leads to your business needs. Leads may be redeemed until settlement administration terminates, which is one year after the Effective Date of the settlement, as defined in the Settlement Agreement.

To ask for a payment, you must have completed and Submitted a Claim Form by October 18, 2021. If you chose not to file a Claim Form, you may still request to redeem your leads by visiting the Redeem Leads page and entering the Lead ID that was provided on the postcard notice you received.  If you misplaced the Lead ID from your postcard, you can contact the Settlement Administrator by calling 1-888-691-3561 to request your Lead ID. Leads must be redeemed before the settlement administration terminates, which is one year from the Effective Date.

The Settlement Administrator will initially decide whether the information provided on a Claim Form is complete and valid. The Settlement Administrator may require additional information from any claimant. If the required information is not timely provided, the claim will be considered invalid and will not be paid.

The Settlement Agreement was approved by the Court at the Final Approval Hearing at 9:00 a.m. on November 19, 2021. We do not have a specific date for payment yet. Please check this website for updates.

You do not have to do anything to remain in the Settlement, but if you wanted a payment you must have submitted a Claim Form online or postmarked by October 18, 2021. The deadline to file a Claim Form has passed. You are still able to redeem your six free leads as described in Question 8 above.

You give up your right to sue Defendant for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. The specific claims you are giving up against Defendant are described in Section 1.27 of the Settlement Agreement. You are “releasing” Defendant and all related people or entities as described in Section 1.28 of the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement is available on the Important Documents page.

The Settlement Agreement describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions about what this means you can talk to the law firms listed in Question 16 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

No. If you excluded yourself from the Settlement, you will not be entitled to any benefits of the Settlement, but you will not be bound by any judgment in this case.

No. Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you give up any right to sue Defendant for the claims that this Settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class to start your own lawsuit or to be part of any different lawsuit relating to the claims in this case. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for a payment. The deadline to exclude yourself was October 18, 2021. The deadline to file a Claim Form was October 18, 2021.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement Agreement was October 18, 2021.

Yes. The Court appointed Jason A. Rittereiser, Rachel M. Emens, Henry Brudney, and Donald Heyrich of HKM Employment Attorneys LLP 600 Stewart Street, Suite 901, Seattle, WA 98101 and Peter D. Stutheit of Stutheit Kalin LLC, 308 SW 1st Avenue, Suite 325, Portland, OR 97204 to represent you and other Settlement Class Members. These lawyers are called Class Counsel. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Per the approved Settlement, Class Counsel asked the Court to award attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses not to exceed 30 percent of the Total Settlement Value of $1,529,000. Class Counsel has also request approval of a service award of $5,000 for the Class Representative.

The deadline to Object to the Settlement Agreement was October 18, 2021. 

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you have no basis to object or submit a Claim Form because the Settlement no longer affects you. The deadline to Object to the Settlement was October 18, 2021. The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class was October 18, 2021.

The Settlement Agreement was approved by the Court at the Final Approval Hearing at 9:00 a.m. on November 19, 2021..

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. However, you are welcome to attend at your own expense. If you file an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. You may also hire your own lawyer to attend, at your own expense, but you are not required to do so.

Yes, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must follow the instructions provided in Question 18 above. You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

If you do nothing, you will not receive any compensation from this Settlement but you are still able to redeem your six free leads as described in Question 8 above. The Court approved the Settlement and therefore you are bound by the Settlement Agreement and the Release. This means you will not be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendant or related parties about the issues involved in the Action, resolved by this Settlement, and released by the Settlement Agreement.

Yes. The Long Form Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement, found on the Important Documents page, or by writing to the Settlement Administrator at Aaland v. One Planet Settlement., c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91414, Seattle, WA 98111.

You may call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-888-691-3561, or write to the Settlement Administrator at Aaland v. One Planet Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91414, Seattle, WA 98111. You may also contact the Settlement Administrator by email at info@optextclassaction.com.

Please do not call the Court or the Clerk of the Court for additional information.

They cannot answer any questions regarding the Settlement or the Action.