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  • I just received this at 1:04 am.  SETTLEMENT CLAIM FROM FIRST VALUATIONS/BROKER PRICE OPINION

    United States District Court for the District of Colorado

    If you completed broker price opinions on behalf of Brokerpriceopinion.com, Inc., First Valuation, LLC, First Valuation Services, LLC, First Valuation Technology, LLC, Cartel Asset Management, LLC, Walter Coats, or ValuTech, Inc. between December 2, 2007 and August 2, 2017, and have not been paid for your services, you could get a payment from a class action settlement.
    A court authorized this Notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.

     

    Why did I get this Notice?  You received this email notice because a proposed settlement has been reached in a case filed against Brokerpriceopinion.com, Inc., First Valuation, LLC, First Valuation Services, LLC, First Valuation Technology, LLC, Cartel Asset Management, LLC, Walter Coats, or ValuTech, Inc. ("Brokerprice" or "Defendants") in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado (Wornicki, et al. v. Brokerpriceopinion.com, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:13-CV-03258-PAB-KMT) ("Settlement").

     

    You may be part of the Settlement Class if, between December 2, 2007 and August 2, 2017, you completed broker price opinions on behalf of Brokerprice and did not receive payment for your services.

     

    The Court authorized this Notice because you have a right to know about the proposed Settlement and your options before the Court decides whether to approve the Settlement.  Because your rights will be affected by this Settlement, it is extremely important that you read this Notice carefully.

     

    What is this lawsuit about?  Plaintiffs brought this lawsuit alleging that Defendants breached contractual agreements with real estate brokers and were unjustly enriched by failing to pay brokers for broker price opinions in accordance with their payment terms.  The lawsuit seeks payment for broker price opinions that brokers performed on behalf of Defendants.  Defendants deny that they did any wrong.  The Court has not decided whether Plaintiffs or Defendants are right.  The lawyers for Plaintiffs will have to prove their claims at a trial.

     

    What are the terms of the Settlement?  Brokerprice will pay a total of $1,571,676 to cover: payments to the class, attorneys’ fees and costs, service awards for Class Representatives, and the costs of administering the settlement.  This total amount will be paid to the Settlement Administrator in installments over 47 months.  From the fund created by these installments, the Settlement Administrator will make a total of five distributions to Settlement Class Members who file timely, valid claims.  With each distribution, the Settlement Administrator will also withdraw funds to cover attorneys’ fees and costs, service awards, and administration costs as approved by the court.  The installments and distributions will be made as follows:

     

    Payment of Installments.  Brokerprice will pay $10,000 towards settlement administration costs within ten days following entry of the order preliminarily approving the Settlement.  Brokerprice will pay $135,000 within five days of the Settlement’s "Effective Date," which occurs after the Court grants final approval to the Settlement and the deadline to appeal settlement approval has run or any appeals are resolved.  Brokerprice will pay an additional $30,000 within 30 days after the Effective Date.  Brokerprice will then pay $30,000 every 30 days for a period of 46 months, except that in the last month Brokerprice will pay $46,676.  Brokerprice will make the payments to a Settlement Administrator that will hold the funds in trust for Settlement Class Members who file valid claims.  Brokerprice will have 30 days to cure any missed payment.  If Brokerprice misses a payment and fails to cure within 30 days, then the Settlement and release of claims will be null and void.

     

    Payments for Amounts Owed to Brokers.  Brokerprice will pay $1,020,000 for amounts they owe to the Settlement Class.  The Settlement Administrator will divide this pro rata among Settlement Class Members who file timely, valid claims in five distributions over 47 months.  The first distribution will be in the amount of $31,324 and will occur within 40 days following the Effective Date.  The second distribution will be in the amount of $258,000 and will occur one year after the first distribution. The third distribution will be in the amount of $258,000 and will occur one year after the second distribution.  The fourth distribution will be in the amount of $258,000 and will occur one year after the third distribution. The fifth distribution will be in the amount of $214,676 and will occur ten months after the fourth distribution. 

     

    Changes to Brokerprice’s business practices.  Brokerprice has agreed to pay all brokers within ninety days for each BPO that the brokers complete and deliver to Brokerprice.  Brokerprice shall maintain a cash reserve in the amount of $240,000 dedicated to the payment of persons completing and delivering BPOs.  Brokerprice shall begin contributing $18,000 per month to such a cash reserve within ninety days following entry of an order preliminarily approving the Settlement.  Brokerprice also has agreed not to use calling scripts, standardized emails or other communications in an attempt to delay payment or alter payment terms for BPOs.  Brokerprice has agreed to employ a compliance manager who shall review training material, train staff, and oversee vendor payment practices.  If Brokerprice fails to timely make a payment to a broker or to comply with the terms of the Settlement, the Settlement and release will be null and void.

     

    Attorneys’ fees.  Class Counsel will request that Brokerprice pay $500,000 to compensate them for the time they spent and the expenses they incurred prosecuting this case.  Class Counsel will be paid any Court-approved attorneys’ fees in five equal distributions over 47 months.

     

    Class Representative Service Awards.  Plaintiffs will request that Brokerprice pay the Class Representatives, Kathy Wornicki and Edward Laine, a Service Award in the amount of $5,000 each.  These awards compensate the Class Representatives for their time and efforts prosecuting this case.  The Class Representatives will be paid any Court-approved service awards in five equal distributions over the course of 47 months.

     

    Notice costs.  Brokerprice will pay the cost of sending notice to the Settlement Class and administering the Settlement. This cost is estimated to be $41,676. Of this amount, Brokerprice will pay $10,000 towards settlement administration costs within ten days following entry of the order preliminarily approving the Settlement. The remaining $31,676 will come from the first installment paid by Brokerprice.

     

    Excess or Unclaimed Amounts.  If the Court awards attorneys’ fees or service awards in an amount that is less than the requested amount, the difference between the amount requested and the amount awarded will be divided among Settlement Class Members who submit a valid claim.  Likewise, any funds from uncashed checks will be distributed to Settlement Class Members if it is administratively feasible to do so.  Under no circumstances will any portion of this settlement fund revert to Brokerprice.

     

    More information.  More information is in a detailed notice available at the Settlement Website at www. brokerpricesettlement.com.

    YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT      

    Submit a claim form.  To get a cash payment, you must submit a claim form.  You may submit a claim form by going to the Settlement Website at www.brokerpricesettlement.com and following the instructions.  You may also request a paper copy of the claim form by calling the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-888-551-9797.  You must mail your paper claim form to Brokerpriceopinion Settlement, Claims Administrator, PO Box 6878, Broomfield, CO 80021.  Your claim form must be postmarked or received through the Settlement Website at www. brokerpricesettlement.com by October 31, 2017.

     

    Exclude yourself.  To exclude yourself from the settlement, you must send a letter to the Settlement Administrator saying that you want to be excluded from theWornicki v. Brokerpriceopinion.com settlement.  You must sign the letter and include the following statement:  "I request to be excluded from the Settlement in the Wornicki action."  You must mail your exclusion request postmarked no later than October 31, 2017 to the following address:

     

     Brokerpriceopinion Settlement

    Claims Administrator

    PO Box 6878

    Broomfield, CO 80021

     

    If you ask to be excluded, you will not get a payment, and you cannot object to the Settlement.  You will not be legally bound by anything that happens in this lawsuit.  You may be able to sue (or continue to sue) Brokerprice in the future.

     

    Object If you remain a Settlement Class Member, you may object to the Settlement by writing to the Court by no later than October 31, 2017.  Additional details on how to object or exclude yourself from the Settlement are contained in the detailed notice which is available on the Settlement Website atwww.brokerpricesettlement.com.

     

    Go to the Fairness Hearing The Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement, including the amount of attorneys’ fees and costs to be paid to Class Counsel and the amount of service awards to be paid to the Class Representatives.  The Court will enter an order setting a date and time for the final fairness hearing.  It is not necessary for you to appear at the hearing, but you may attend at your own expense.  The hearing will be held at the Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse A741 in Courtroom A701 in Denver, Colorado. 

     

     Further information regarding the Settlement is available at www. brokerpricesettlement.com.  You may also contact the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-888-551-9797 or by writing to: Brokerpriceopinion Settlement, Claims Administrator, PO Box 6878, Broomfield, CO 80021.

  • brokerpriceopinion.com does not pay-do not work for them.

  • For all of you who are going to sue, post, complain, b***h, etc., even though an online search would have answered the question 'do they pay? - no they don't.' since at least 2010, here is the link to the class action suit already in progress.

    http://www.appraiserlawblog.com/2013/12/class-action-lawsuit-filed-...

  • Well I just got of the phone (accounting recorded answering service) and I emailed them to say Im starting a suit and that Im (true) working with a national new reporting agency reporter on a story about BPOs and how they affect homeowners. Im going to talk about the middle companies that give us orders. Just fired of an email to my atty to see if I can actually name BPO. At the very least, I feel like sending info about them to as many lenders/servicers as possible to warn them not to use them.

    • Make sure you say nice things about the good ones.  And possibly the best places to complain and get to the bank servicers is to try to publish something in  Mortgage Servicing News <nationalmortgagenews@email.nationalmortgagenews.com> and National Mortgage News <groups-noreply@linkedin.com>.  Both have print and online/emailed newsletters and LinkedIn pages.

    • They have ignored me. Its going to be amusing to do do web searches on them in a few days---Im just sayin'..

  • I wish I would read these comments last week , I just did a bpo for them a few days ago

  • I did 20 BPO's for this company and have never been paid. You will never get a REO listing from this company. I had to call and file complaint with the Colorado business bureau. Lori from the BBB told me that they have 446 complaints on broker's price opinion. They made arrangements to start paying me in payments starting July 17 and I've never received a check, so now they have to reopen the case. They owe me $810.00. Do not, I repeat do not do business with this company and they do not pay.
  • THEY DO NO PAY! It took me over 2 years to get the money back.  They owed me over $3,000. 

  • Abe, after two demand for payment letters, a complaint to the California AG (useless waste of time), Complaint filing with the Rip-off Report and a complaint filing to the BBB. I got a response that they would be paying sometime in October. This response, I'm figuring, was in response to the threat of a lawsuit and once served realized that my threat to sue them was not just an idle threat. We go to court in just about a month. As with a few other companies I've had the pleasure of suing, they will not show up and I will be ready to file my liens against the properties and tacking on my 10% late fees.   

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