We can now inform you that your overtime case against State Farm has been SETTLED. Under the terms of the settlement, State Farm is obligated to pay up to $135 million to resolve this matter.

Over the last 4 years, we have been actively litigating this case, preparing for trial, while at the same time engaging in settlement discussions with State Farm. Once we were able to obtain Summary Adjudication of the issue of liability (i.e., that State Farm was obligated to pay Class Members overtime), those discussions accelerated. We retained the services of a retired justice of the California Supreme Court to act as a mediator. Eventually, in August, we were able to agree upon the broad outline of a settlement. Since that time, we have been working on the details in order to finalize a settlement agreement (as you can imagine, a settlement of this magnitude is extremely complex).

That was accomplished in mid-November.

Under California Class Action rules, we will now go through the process of obtaining approval of the settlement from the Court. The first step has already been achieved. On November 24th, Judge Anthony Mohr of the Los Angeles Superior Court preliminarily approved the settlement. He authorized us to mail notice of the settlement to all Class Members. Notice was mailed on December 6th. If you are a class member and have not received your Settlement Notice and Claim Form by December 15th, please contact us at 888-587-7100. In the alternative, you may download a claim form from this site and mail it to the Claims Administrator. Please read the Settlement Notice carefully to make sure that you are included in the settling class.

The second step in the approval process is the Fairness Hearing. That hearing will be held on January 10, 2005 before our court appointed Referee, who will make a recommendation to Judge Mohr concerning the settlement. We anticipate that Judge Mohr will grant final approval at that time.

While this approval process is proceeding, Class Members should send in their Claim Forms to the Claims Administrator. Once those are all received and other administrative matters are addressed, settlement checks will be mailed to Class Members who filed timely claims. We anticipate this will take place in April or May, barring any unforseen delays.

Please click on the links at the top of this page to see a copy of the Settlement Notice, the Claim Form or the Settlement Agreement.

Remember, your claim forms must be postmarked no later than February 19, 2005.

We Hope You Agree That Your Patience Has Been Rewarded By This Settlement!!

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