Klafter Lesser LLP

Final Burlington Coat Distribution.

Klafter Lesser is now completing the final distribution of $12.5 million to its clients in Goodman v. Burlington Coat Company, a collective and class action settlement on behalf of over 1,500 present and former Assistant Store Managers at Burlington Coat claiming that they had wrongfully been denied overtime pay. the supplemental payout will bring the average per person to these clients to about about $8,000 per person. Getting to this point took almost a decade of hard-fought litigation and Klafter Lesser is pleased that the final payments to the settlement class members is now being completed.

Report Issued in KL Case That Made a Difference -- In 2009, Klafter Lesser obtained a $24.5 million in a class settlement over historical discriminatory life insurance sale practices by John Hancock. Out of the settlement, we founded the Norflet Progress Fund to distribute $15.3 million in cy pres organizations supporting African-American communities across America. The impact that was made by the Norflet Progress Fund has been set forth in this report:

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KL Wins Federal Appellate Decision Upholding Late-Filed Mortgage Satisfaction Claims

On May 20, 2021, a year after Klafter Lesser partner Seth Lesser argued before the Court, the United States Court of Appeals issued a significant 2-1 decision upholding the claims in Maddox v Bank of New York. This class action seeks to remedy the Bank of New York’s failure to timely record mortgage satisfactions in accordance with New York State law, leaving individuals who paid off their mortgages in danger of negative credit reports. The specific legal issue was whether plaintiffs had standing under Article III of the United States Constitution in order to pursue these claims in federal court. The district court had ruled they did but had concluded the matter to be a “close question” and certified it to the Court of Appeals for addressing. The decision by the Second Circuit is a resounding success for plaintiffs in the Second Circuit who are pursuing claims, including for statutory damages, under many federal and state consumer protection laws. A copy of the decision can be found hee: http://klafterlesser.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021.05.10-Second-Circuit-Affirmance-Maddox-v-BONY.pdf.

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