SHERRY BLACKBURN et al v. A.C. ISRAEL ENTERPRISES et al.

The Notice is about a proposed nationwide Settlement that will be considered by the United States District Court in Richmond, Virginia (the “Court”). The Settlement must be approved by the Court.

The Plaintiffs’ claims are being settled in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in the case styled, Sherry Blackburn, et al. v. A.C. Israel Enterprises, Inc., et al., Case No. 3:22-cv-146.

The claims involved in the Settlement arise out of loans made in the name of Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, Majestic Lake and Mountain Summit, which are owned by the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, a federally recognized Native American tribe (the “Tribe”).

The Plaintiffs in this case claim that Defendants, who are individuals and entities unaffiliated with the Tribe, violated federal and state laws by making and collecting loans with annual interest rates in excess of the amount allowed by state laws.

Defendants vigorously deny any wrongdoing and the facts of Plaintiffs’ claims. They assert that the loans are legal because, among other reasons, (1) the rates and terms were authorized under the respective laws of the Tribe, and (2) the borrowers each explicitly agreed that tribal laws governed the loan(s). Defendants also defend against the Plaintiffs’ claims on numerous other grounds, including the expiration of the applicable statutes of limitation and that they were passive investors who were uninvolved in the operation or management of the lending enterprise.

Important case documents, including the Complaint, may be accessed at the Settlement Website, www.upperlakesettlement.com.

In a class action or proceeding, one or more people, called class representatives, bring an action on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of the people who have claims similar to the class representatives are a class or class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the class. Here, the Plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Class against the Defendants based on the Defendants’ alleged involvement in, and support of, the lending scheme.
 

You are a member of the Settlement Class and will be affected by the Settlement if you obtained a loan from Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, and/or Majestic Lake at any time, or if you obtained a loan from Mountain Summit prior to February 1, 2021.

If you received the Notice, we believe you are a member of the Settlement Class and you will be a Settlement Class Member unless you exclude yourself.
 

Defendants have agreed to provide the following benefits and others more fully described at the Settlement website, www.upperlakesettlement.com:

Cash Payments: A $25,535,929.00 fund will be created from contributions by the Defendants to provide additional cash payments to Class Members. If the Court approves the Settlement, and if you are entitled to any payment, a check for your portion will be automatically mailed to you.

The amount of any cash payment to you will depend on what you paid in principal and/or what you paid in interest above your state’s legal limits, as well as the amount of money available in the settlement fund. The list of rates by state used in this Settlement is available on the Settlement Website, www.upperlakesettlement.com. You will only get a proportionate share of the recovery because the total amount of the settlement funds available likely will not be enough to pay everyone the full amount paid on their loan. You may also go to the website to determine if you will receive a payment, and you can contact the Settlement Administrator using the contact information below to get an estimate of the amount you likely would receive if the Settlement is approved. The cash payments made as part of this Settlement are in addition to the cash payment(s), if any, that you may have received as part of the separate settlement of the earlier, related litigation in George Hengle, et al. v. Scott Asner, et al., Civil Action No. 3:19-cv-250, unless you excluded yourself from (or “opted out” of) that settlement.

The Settlement Administrator will mail a check with your cash payment, if any, to the same address as the Notice, so please update your address if you move.

You will not receive a cash payment, but will receive other benefits, if you:

• Did not make any payments on your loan with Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, Majestic Lake, or Mountain Summit; or
• Lived in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin and did not make payments above the full principal amount of your loan; or
• Lived in Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wyoming and did not pay interest above your state’s legal limits; or
• Lived in Utah or Nevada (which had no interest rate restrictions).

Other Benefits: Defendants will agree not to provide capital, services, or assistance to Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, Majestic Lake, or Mountain Summit, as well as their successors, for a period of three (3) years, and will not participate in the collection of any of the loans at issue in the lawsuit, regardless of whether you have made any payments on those loans.

Nothing. If the Court approves the Settlement, the benefits described above will happen automatically. The Settlement Administrator will send an email after Final Approval to update you on what happened at the hearing. You can also check the website for an update or contact the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel if you have additional questions.

Unless you exclude yourself, you are a member of the Settlement Class, and that means that you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendants concerning the claims relating to your Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, Majestic Lake or Mountain Summit loans. This means that you will not be able to pursue or recover any additional money from the Defendants beyond the benefits of this Settlement. The Defendants against whom the Settlement Class will release all claims (also called the “Released Parties”) include: (1) A.C. Israel Enterprises, Inc. (d/b/a “Ingleside Investors”); (2) Richard Investors, LLC; (3) Greg Warner; (4) Ferrell Capital, Inc.; (5) Seville, LTD; (6) Monu Joseph; (7) Joseph Investment, LLC; (8) Joseph NPA Investment, LLC; (9) E Opportunities, LLC; (10) Skye, LLC; (11) Cabbage City, LLC; (12) Benjamin Gravley; (13) Signal Light, LLC; (14) Hvmken, LP; (15) George Kellner; (16) Kellner Capital, LLC; (17) Amit Raizada; (18) Spectrum Business Ventures, Inc.; and (19) Raizada Group, LLLP, as well as their predecessors and successors and other related individuals and entities. The complete Release and list of Released Parties can be found in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Settlement website at www.upperlakesettlement.com.

Staying in the Class also means that any Court orders pertaining to this Settlement will apply to you and legally bind you.

To be excluded from (or to “opt out” of) this Settlement, you must send an “Exclusion Request” by mail. You may download a form to use from the Settlement website or you may send your own letter which must include:

• The name of this Action: “Blackburn v. A.C. Israel Enterprises, Inc., No. 3:22-cv-146 (E.D. Va.)”;
• Your name, address, and telephone number;
• Last four digits of your social security number, or your account number with Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, Majestic Lake, or Mountain Summit;
• A statement that you want to be excluded: “I request to be excluded from the class settlement in this case”; and
• Your Signature.

Your Exclusion Request must be postmarked no later than January 22, 2024, to:

Blackburn Settlement
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 23309
Jacksonville, FL 32241

Objecting to the Settlement is different than Excluding yourself from the Settlement.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you can object to the Settlement if you think the Settlement is not fair, reasonable, or adequate, and that the Court should not approve the Settlement. You also have the right to appear personally and be heard by the Court and the parties. The Court and Class Counsel will consider your views carefully.

To object, you must send a letter stating your views to each of the parties listed below:

COURT                                                         SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATOR
Clerk of the Court                                         Blackburn Settlement
United States District Court                          c/o Settlement Administrator
Eastern District of Virginia                            P.O. Box 23309
701 E. Broad St.                                           Jacksonville, FL 32241                                          
Richmond, VA 23219

You should include the docket number on the front of the envelope and letter you file to the Court: “EDVA USDC Case No. 3:22-cv-146”.

All objections must include:
• The name of this Action: “Blackburn v. A.C. Israel Enterprises, Inc., No. 3:22-cv-146 (E.D. Va.)”;
• Your name, address, and telephone number;
• A sentence confirming that you are a Settlement Class Member;
• The factual basis and legal grounds for the objection to the Settlement; and
• A list of any prior cases in which you or your counsel have objected to a class settlement. Counsel representing an objecting Settlement Class Member must enter an appearance in these cases. If you or your counsel want to appear personally at the hearings, you must state that in your Objection.

Objections must be filed with the above Court no later than January 22, 2024, and served on the above parties so that they are postmarked no later than January 22, 2024.

The Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement.

The Eastern District of Virginia will hold a final hearing on the fairness of the Settlement on March 6, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. in the courtroom of Judge David J. Novak of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 701 E. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

If there are objections or comments, the Court will consider them at that time. The hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice. Please check www.upperlakesettlement.com or call 1-800-380-5945 to be kept up-to-date on the date, time, and location of the hearing.

No. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. As long as you mailed your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also retain a lawyer to appear on your behalf at your own expense.

Yes. The Court has appointed the following law firms as Class Counsel to represent you and all other members of the Settlement Class:

These lawyers will not separately charge you for their work on the case. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel are permitted to ask the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees not to exceed one third of the amount paid by Defendants, which is $8,511,967. The amount awarded by the Court will reduce the distributions to Class Members.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve a $15,000 payment to each of the eight individual Plaintiffs in this lawsuit, for a total of $120,000. The Plaintiffs made substantial contributions in the prosecution of this lawsuit for the benefit of the Class. The Court will ultimately decide how much the individual Plaintiffs will be paid.

The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement and other relevant case-related documents on this site under Important Court Documents

PLEASE DO NOT ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT OR THE LITIGATION TO
THE CLERK OF THE COURT, THE JUDGES, THE DEFENDANTS OR THE DEFENDANTS’ COUNSEL.
THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.