Spectrum Settlement Recovery Seeking Refunds for Businesses in $3 Billion Visa/MasterCard Settlement; Judge Directs Lead Counsel to Follow Class Members' Instructions As Filing Deadline Approaches
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2005

In the high stakes world of class action litigation, legal infighting between plaintiffs' attorneys is hardly unusual. Plaintiffs' lawyers frequently jockey with one another to obtain lead counsel status in order to control both the case and the largest share of the attorney fees.

Now the sharp-elbowed infighting has spilled over to a third party not directly involved in the litigation.

On Friday, September 9, 2005, Constantine Cannon, lead counsel in the $3 billion anti-trust case against Visa and MasterCard, filed a motion against Spectrum Settlement Recovery, LLC, a San Francisco-based company that helps eligible class members recover their share of class action settlements.

Constantine, which had asked for more than $600 million in legal fees for its efforts on the VISA/MasterCard case and was ultimately awarded over $200 million, sought to prevent Spectrum from acting as an agent for merchants seeking to recover from the settlement fund. Spectrum's team has represented tens of thousands of individuals and small businesses, as well as over 20% of the Fortune 500, in various class action settlements.

Despite notoriously low levels of participation by class members in class actions, Constantine sought to restrain Spectrum's efforts to bring more small and medium sized companies to the table. Since all $3 billion will be distributed, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer and the company that originally hired Constantine, stands to gain the most from a low filing rate.

Judge John Gleeson of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York wasted no time and on September 12, without even waiting for Spectrum's response, issued an order directing Constantine to " ... abide by (Spectrum's customers') instructions, including instructions as to where to send the claims forms." The Court also rejected Constantine's request that its issues be dealt with immediately.

The judge's order is consistent with other federal courts, which have held that class members are entitled to employ third-party claims services as they see fit.

"This attempted distraction will in no way affect Spectrum's aggressive pursuit of our customers' full recoveries," says Howard Yellen, CEO of Spectrum. "If anything, it will only cause us to redouble our efforts."

Businesses that accepted VISA or MasterCard credit and debit cards between October 1992 and June 2003 are eligible to recover money from the $3 billion settlement fund. The settlement stems from a class action suit that alleged the charge card companies violated anti-trust laws and overcharged on transaction processing fees.

Eligible businesses must file a claim before the deadline in order to recover money. The final deadline for accepting the Claims Administrator's recovery estimate is November 28, according to the website of The Garden City Group, the Claims Administrator in the case. However, businesses that receive a pre-printed claim form in the mail only have until October 29 to challenge that estimate in writing.

Spectrum is helping businesses navigate through this complex process. "One of our clients, a large company with over 100 million dollars per year in revenue, received seven claim forms from the Administrator, all of them blank, offering no recovery. Missing data is a big problem for smaller businesses too. With Spectrum's help, these merchants should get the significant recoveries they are entitled to," says Yellen.

Rick Lawrance, President of the California Lodging Industry Association, believes Spectrum plays a vital role in the class action settlement process. "Spectrum is looking after the interests of small and medium size businesses," he says. "This legal skirmishing just shows that they're very effective at what they do." Spectrum represents a number of CLIA members in the VISA/MasterCard settlement.

About Spectrum Settlement Recovery -- Spectrum is the nation's largest claim filing and fund recovery service for commercial and securities class-action settlements. Spectrum offers a complete solution for filing and managing settlement claims. www.spectrumsettlement.com
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