Case Information

MARK HALE, TODD SHADLE, and LAURIE LOGER, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, EDWARD MURNANE, and WILLIAM G. SHEPHERD, Defendants.

No. 12-0660-DRH

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

April 16, 2018

HERNDON, District Judge

ORDER APPOINTING NOTICE PLAN

HERNDON, District Judge:

Pending before the Court is plaintiffs’ unopposed request for approval of the Class Certification Plan prepared by Hilsoft Notifications and submitted with their April 13, 2018 letter. Upon consideration of the Notice Plan and its attachments, the Court FINDS that the Notice Plan constitutes the best notice practicable and therefore GRANTS plaintiffs’ request and APRROVES the Notice Plan. With respect to the one disagreement among the parties as to the language, the Court FINDS proper the following language:

“The lawsuit claims that State Farm, Ed Murname and William Shepherd (the defendants) violated the RICO statute in an attempt to overturn, in the Illinois Supreme Court, a $1.05 billion judgment in favor of approximately 4.7 million StateFarm policyholders, which would allow State Farm to avoid paying the amount of the judgment rendered in plaintiffs' favor in the trial court.”

The Court in ruling on the dispute between the parties regarding the language of this sentence notes that both parties' rendition is accurate, but neither side presents a complete explanation of the nature of the lawsuit needed to give the class members the concise reason for the litigation.

Finally, the Court DIRECTS that the Notice Plan be implemented according to its terms and on the following schedule:

Description	Date	Timing
Notice Plan Begins (Case Website and Toll-Free Live – Press Release Issued)	May 16, 2108	Approximately 30 days after the date of this Order
Mailed Notice Begins	May 16, 2018	Approximately 30 days after the date of this Order
Online Portion of Media Plan Begins	May 16, 2018	Approximately 30 days after the date of this Order
Print Ads appear in People and Sports Illustrated	May 31, 2018	Approximately 45 days after the date of this Order
End of Notice Period (Online Media Ends)	June 15, 2018	Approximately 60 days after the date of the Order
Exclusion Deadline	August 14, 2018	Approximately 120 days after the date of this Order
Notice Plan Implementation Declaration and Exclusion Report Filed with the Court	August 24, 2018	Approximately 130 days after the date of this Order

IT IS SO ORDERED.

United States District Judge

Judge Herndon

2018.04.16 09:30:09 -05'00'