1. What is this lawsuit about?
2. What is a class action?
3. Why is there a settlement in this lawsuit?
4. What happens next?
5. Where can I learn more?
6. What money does the Settlement provide?
7. How do I get paid?
8. How much will I be paid?
9. Do I have a lawyer in this lawsuit?
10. Do I have to pay the lawyers in this lawsuit?
11. What if I don’t want to be part of this Settlement?
12. What if I disagree with the Settlement?
13. How do I get more information?
This lawsuit is about whether Equity Residential owes certain California tenants a partial refund of the Standard Late Fee (5%, minimum $50) that Equity charged its California tenants from October 2022 to April 2024. There is another case, called Munguia-Brown v. Equity Residential, that is still pending before the same court. That lawsuit covers different groups of tenants depending on the date they were first charged with the Standard Late Fee. This lawsuit that has settled is limited to tenants who were first charged the Standard Late Fee between October 29, 2022, and April 30, 2024. Equity Residential denies that it did anything wrong.
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A class action settlement is an agreement between parties to resolve the case. Settlements can provide money to class members.
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In April 2025, the parties agreed to a settlement to end the lawsuit. Both sides want to avoid the risk, delay, and expense of more litigation.
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You can remain part of the Settlement, meaning that you give up your ability to sue Equity Residential and the other Defendants on these same issues, or you can choose not to be part of the Settlement, which means you will not receive any payment or account credit in this case, but you would still be able to bring your own lawsuit. This is called “opting out.” You can also object to the settlement if you don’t like it.
Because a class action decides the rights of all class members, the Court must evaluate the Settlement and decide whether to approve it. Payments will be made only after the Court approves the settlement. If the Court does not approve the Settlement, the Settlement will not happen, and the lawsuit will continue.
The Court will hold a hearing about whether to approve the Settlement and Class Counsel’s anticipated request for attorneys’ fees. The hearing will be on January 9, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at:
California Northern District Court
Courtroom 5, 2nd Floor
1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612
The scheduled hearing date could change. You can check the date on this website and see if the hearing will be on Zoom.
You can attend the Settlement approval hearing. You can also ask the Court for permission to speak and express your opinion about the settlement. You can also hire your own lawyer at your own expense.
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You can get a complete copy of the proposed Settlement and other key documents in this lawsuit on the Important Documents page.
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Defendants will pay up to a total of $2,934,620.00 to class members as part of the settlement. Up to $2,272,224.00 will be used to reimburse class members who were the primary tenants in their unit for the late fees they paid between October 29, 2022 and April 30, 2024: those class members will be refunded the total late fees they paid minus $31.98 per late fee, which represents how an expert hired by Class Counsel calculated Equity Residential’s average actual costs for collecting late rent in the related Munguia-Brown case.
For tenants who were charged late fees between October 29, 2022, and April 30, 2024, but had not yet paid those late fees by April 3, 2025, Equity Residential will use up to $662,396.00 to credit the tenants’ accounts for those late-fee charges, reducing each unpaid late fee charge to $31.98.
These payments and credits represent the actual amounts of class members’ late fees minus the amount that Class Counsel believes is the proper deduction for Equity’s cost of late rent collection. Separate from these payments, Defendants will also pay to administer the settlement (expected to be approximately $50,000.00). Plaintiff will also ask the Court to order Equity Residential to separately pay Class Counsel approximately $430,000.00 for their attorneys’ fees and costs, and make a $5,000.00 payment to the tenant who brought this lawsuit for the time and effort they put into the case and the risk they took. These payments will only be made if the Court approves them.
Class members will “release” their claims as part of the settlement, which means they cannot sue Equity Residential or the other Defendants for the issues raised in this lawsuit. You can read the full terms of the Settlement in the Rule 68.
Class members who receive checks will have 180 days to cash them. If class members do not cash their checks in time, their payments will be sent to the state of California’s Unclaimed Property program.
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If the Court approves the Settlement, you do not need to do anything. You (or the primary tenant from your unit) will receive a check in the mail or Equity Residential will credit your tenant account, and you will be bound by the Settlement.
If you want to receive your payment by Paypal, Venmo, or Zelle instead of a check, you can do that online through the Payment Election module on this website .
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If you are a class member, you should have received an email or postcard containing the amount of the payment or credit you can expect to receive under the settlement. If you did not receive the notice, or have any questions, you can call (844) 496-1050, or email at info@EquityVanCottLateFees.com.
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In a class action, the court appoints lawyers to represent the interests of all the class members. For this case, the court appointed the following lawyers as Class Counsel:
Linda M. Dardarian, Esq. | Margaret McBride, Esq. | Craig Nicholas, Esq. |
You can also hire your own lawyer at your own expense.
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So far, thelawyers have not been paid any money for their work or costs. They will request to be paid as part of the Settlement process. Class members do not have to pay anything to the lawyers.
The Settlement allows the Court to approve a reasonable payment to the lawyers. Class Counsel expect to ask the Court to approve payment in the amount of $430,000.00. Any amount awarded will be separate from the payments to be made to class members.
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You can opt out of the Settlement. If you opt out, you will not receive a payment, but you will have the right to file your own case against Equity Residential or the other Defendants.
To opt out, you must mail or email your request to opt out by October 27, 2025, to:
Van Cott v. Equity Residential, et al.
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
info@EquityVanCottLateFees.com
Include the case name and number, your full name and all other names used while living at Equity properties, address, phone number, email (if you have one), and your signature (handwritten or typed).
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If you disagree with any part of the Settlement but don’t want to opt out, you can object. You must say why you think the Court should not approve the settlement and whether your objection applies to just you, a part of the class, or the entire class. The Court will consider this when it decides whether to approve or reject the settlement. The Court cannot change the settlement. If you choose to object to the settlement, you can hire a lawyer to help you with it, or you can object without hiring a lawyer.
To object, you must submit your objection by October 27, 2025. You can mail the objection to:
Class Action Clerk
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
1301 Clay Street
Oakland, CA 94612
You can also file the objection electronically or in person at any location of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, which has courthouses in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose.
Your written objection must include:
the case name and number;
your full name and all other names used while living at Equity properties;
your address, phone number, and email (if you have one);
the reasons why you think the agreement should not be approved;
whether you or your lawyer intend to appear at the settlement approval hearing and your lawyer's name; and
your signature (handwritten or typed).
If you submit a timely written objection, you may, but are not required to, appear at the Final Approval Hearing on January 9, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., either in person or through your own attorney.
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All Settlement documents can be found on the Important Documents page of this website. For questions about the Settlement, you are welcome to contact the Settlement Administrator at (844) 496-1050 or the attorneys listed in FAQ 9.
Para asistencia en español, por favor haz clic aquí.
Do not contact the Court or Clerk of Court regarding this Settlement.
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