CVS’s records show that a vehicle you own or were operating was non-consensually towed from the CVS parking lots located at 6100 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 or 4610 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15213, or that you paid a fee for such tow, between September 2012 and September 2018 that was more than amount set forth in the City Ordinances. A group of similarly situated individuals filed the proposed class action lawsuits against Defendant in 2018, alleging that Defendant permitted TAG Towing to charge more than permitted under the Pittsburgh City Ordinance for non-consensual tows from the Parking Lots. The parties have now reached a proposed settlement of the lawsuit.

The Court authorized a Notice to inform you of your rights under the proposed class action settlement before the Court decides whether to grant final approval of the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, and after objections and appeals are resolved, a Settlement Administrator (Analytics Consulting LLC) will make the cash payments that the Settlement allows, and the pending legal claims against Defendants will be released and dismissed.

The package explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, your rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for the benefits, and how to get them. The cases are captioned: Alex Goldblum et al v. 101 Kappa Drive Associates #1 et al, GD-18-012108 and Annette Moran et al v. Brian Haenze et al, GD-18-012128, in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.

Plaintiffs Annette Moran, Anthony Ira Bentley, Sr., Ariana Brazier, Frank Kamara, Arthur Logan, Geraldine Wilson, Janet Luka, Mattie Griffin, Jude Carpenter, Lynn Anderson, and Alex Goldblum brought this class action against the Defendants, including CVS and TAG Towing, alleging that Defendants unlawfully towed vehicles from the Parking Lot and that TAG Towing unlawfully charged for the return or release of certain vehicles towed from the Parking Lots. Defendants deny all of the Plaintiffs’ claims.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called “Class Representative(s)” (in this case Annette Moran, Anthony Ira Bentley, Sr., Ariana Brazier, Frank Kamara, Arthur Logan, Geraldine Wilson, Janet Luka, Mattie Griffin, Juge Carpenter, Lynn Anderson, and Alex Goldblum) sue on behalf of themselves and other people who have similar claims, together called a “Class” or “Class Members.” The individuals who brought this suit, along with all the Class Members, are called “Plaintiffs.” The people and companies being sued (in this case Pennsylvania CVS Pharmacy and Brian Haenze d/b/a Auto Gallery & Accessories and as Tag Towing and Collision) are called “Defendants.” One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class—except for those people who choose to exclude themselves from the Class.

The Court has not decided in favor of Plaintiffs or Defendants. Instead, both sides agreed to the Settlement. The Settlement is not an admission that Defendants did something wrong, but rather a compromise to end the lawsuit. By agreeing to settle, both sides avoid the costs, risks, and uncertainties of a trial and related appeals, while providing benefits to members of the Settlement Class. The Settlement Class Representatives and the attorneys of the Settlement Class think the Settlement is best for Settlement Class Members.

You are a member of the Class and affected by the Settlement if:

You were non-consensually towed from the Parking Lots by TAG Towing between September 2012 and December 27, 2015 and were charged in excess of $110 total for the return of the towed vehicle, or non-consensually towed from the Parking Lots by TAG Towing between December 28, 2015 and September 2018 and were charged in excess of $135 total for return of the towed vehicle.

Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class are the Court – and any immediate family members of the Court – and individuals who timely and validly request exclusion from the Settlement Class.

If you timely exclude yourself from the Settlement, you are no longer part of the Settlement Class and will no longer be eligible to receive payments from the Settlement Fund. The process of excluding yourself is referred to as “opting out” of the Settlement and is described in the Section below titled “Excluding Yourself from the Settlement.”

If you are still not sure whether you are included, you can contact the Settlement Administrator at (877) 654-8287 or visit the Settlement website for more information.

Under the Settlement, CVS will pay THIRTY-EIGHT THOUSAND SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS AND 00/100 CENTS ($38,065.00) into a Settlement Fund. The Settlement Administrator will review CVS’s records, through which it recorded tows from the Parking Lots, to determine the total number of Settlement Class Members. The Settlement Administrator will then divide the Settlement Fund, after reduction for notice and administration, by the total number of Settlement Class Members that have not opted out of the Settlement to determine each Settlement Class Member’s pro rata share of the Settlement Fund (“Portion of the Settlement Fund”). The Settlement Administrator will then distribute to each Participating Settlement Class Member their Participating Settlement Class Member’s Individual Settlement Amount.

In addition, CVS will separately pay, if approved by the Court, up to NINETY-THREE THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND 00/100 CENTS ($93,500.00) in fees, costs and expenses to attorneys for the Settlement Class and up to ONE THOUSAND-FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND 00/100 CENTS ($1,500.00) in service awards to each of the Settlement Class Representatives for a total of SIXTEEN THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND 00/100 CENTS ($16,500.00).

The amount of payment will depend on several factors. If no Class Member excludes themselves from the Settlement, each Class Member’s estimated payment is $115.00.

If you do nothing, you will automatically receive a payment after the Court grants final approval of the Settlement and all appeals are resolved.

The Court will hold a hearing on November 20, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether these appeals can be resolved and resolving them takes time, sometimes more than a year. Payments to the Settlement Class Members will be made after the Settlement is finally approved and any appeals or other required proceedings have been completed as set forth in the Settlement Agreement. You may visit the Settlement Website for updates on the progress of Settlement

Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will be unable to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit, against CVS or the Releasees (as defined in the Settlement Agreement) relating to the nonconsensual tow of your motor vehicle from the Parking Lots between September 2012 and September 2018. The specific claims that you are giving up are described in the Settlement Agreement, which is available at the Settlement Website.

If you have any questions, you may contact the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel listed in Question 23 for free, or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

If you want to keep your rights to sue or continue to sue CVS based on claims this Settlement resolves, then you must take steps to exclude yourself from the Class (See Questions 13-15).

If you ask to be excluded, you will not get any payment as part of this Settlement, and you cannot object to this Settlement. You will not be legally bound by anything that happens in the Settlement and related proceedings. You will be able to sue (or continue to sue) CVS in the future. If you both object to the Settlement and seek to exclude yourself, you will be deemed to have excluded yourself.