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NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

Barney's, Inc. (Charles Milo v. Barney's, Inc.)
The purpose of this Notice is to inform you that there has been a proposed Settlement of claims asserted in this action with respect to disclosures on credit card applications for Barneys New York credit cards made available at Barneys New York warehouse sales. This Notice summarizes the Settlement and your rights under it.

The Settlement resolves all claims asserted in the lawsuit, including all claims relating to the failure to make required disclosures on credit card applications for Barneys credit cards made available at Barneys warehouse sales during the class period.

The Settlement covers a Plaintiff Settlement Class, which includes all persons who (a) opened a Barneys New York credit card account and used that account after being provided with an application in the form of Exhibit A to the Amended Complaint between April 13, 2009 and April 13, 2010 and (b) do not timely exclude themselves from the Plaintiff Settlement Class.

A copy of the notice can be seen here. To view the form, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available for free at www.adobe.com.

New Credit Card Rules Take Effect
Some of the rules laid out in last May's Credit Card Reform legislation went into effect this week, offering customers advanced notices and additional time to pay down their balance.

The first phase of the credit card legislation -- signed into law by President Barack Obama in May -- is finally kicking in and consumers can expect to see a few changes, if not in their wallet, then in their mailbox. For one thing, the new rules require companies to send out bills 21 days before payment is due.

Attorney Brian Bromberg talks to NY1 about some of these changes.

(Click here to read the full story on NY1's website)

PayHalf Stores (Francis v. A&E Stores, Inc.)
A lawsuit has been filed against A&E Stores, Inc., owner of PayHalf Stores, alleging that A&E Stores, Inc. failed to pay "Assistant Store Managers" overtime they were due under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The case name is Francis v. A&E Stores. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has certified this case as a collective action. If you are or were an "Assistant Store Manager" at a "PayHalf" store, and you are currently employed in that position or were employed in that position at any time since December 9, 2005, and you were salaried and did not receive overtime compensation, you may be eligible to join the lawsuit.

A copy of the notice can be seen here. (click to down load in PDF form)

If you believe you are a member of the class and wish to submit a consent form to join the lawsuit, please click here to view and print the "Consent to Become Party Plaintiff" form.

If you wish to be part of this case, we must receive your consent form in sufficient time to file it with the Court on or before February 23, 2009. If you fail to return the "Consent to Become Party Plaintiff" form to class counsel in time for it to be filed with the federal court on or before February 23, 2009, you may not be able to participate as a plaintiff in this lawsuit.

Schwartz v. GE Capital Consumer Card Co., United States District Court, Eastern District of New York.
A settlement has been reached in a class-action case alleging that the defendant, an issuer of Macy's Credit Cards, violated the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) by failing to properly disclose minimum finance charges and annual percentage rates on Macy's Credit Card accounts.

If you believe that you are a class member and would like further information concerning your options or would like to submit a claim form, click on the "Class Action Notices" button to the left. Then click on the Schwartz v. GE Capital Consumer Card Co. link to download the full class notice and claim form. To view the form, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available for free at www.adobe.com.

Lawrence v. Borah Goldstein Altschuler Schwartz & Nahins, P.C., United States District Court, Southern District of New York.
A settlement has been reached in a class-action case alleging that the defendant, a law firm that represents landlords in eviction cases in New York State, violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by issuing rent demand notices to tenants that illegally overshadow their Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) rights to dispute the alleged debt.

If you believe that you are a class member and would like further information concerning your options or would like to submit a claim form, click on the "Class Action Notices" button to the left. Then click on the Lawrence v. Borah Goldstein Altschuler Schwartz & Nahins, P.C. link to download the full class notice and claim form. To view the form, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available for free at www.adobe.com.

Cy Pres (charitable) on a class action brought for an improper debt collection during the course of eviction proceedings. An award check in the amount of $23,844.48 was presented by Brian L. Bromberg on behalf of Bromberg Law Office, P.C. (in New York City), and Lance A. Raphael and Stacy M. Bardo (of the Consumer Advocacy Center, P.C. in Chicago)