Why Partner With Rust?
Depth of Experience
We have administered some of the largest and most complex consumer class action settlements in history. Our experience spans all consumer areas, including consumer finance, insurance, healthcare, telecom, product liability, antitrust and property.
Experienced Leadership Team
Our consumer practice area is led by an experienced team with more than 60 years of combined experience in class action settlement administration.
Proactive Client Service
Experienced senior vice presidents and dedicated project managers are your primary points of contact from pre-settlement consultation through distribution. You will receive regular reports, be informed of next steps and responsibilities and receive expert advice to ensure an efficient and effective settlement administration.
The Quality and Control of In-House Operations
We can conduct all aspects of claims administration in-house, giving you higher quality results, tighter data security and streamlined communications. In addition, we employ a full-time department to oversee quality in every aspect of operations.
Expert Paid Media Notice Partner
Rust’s partner Kinsella Media designs and implements media notification programs that meet legal scrutiny and withstand collateral attack. Rust and Kinsella Media can work seamlessly together or separately to provide the best resources for media-based notice and claims administration on each case.
Selected Case Experience
Innovative Notice Saves $5 Million
With a noticeable class of more than 10 million, Rust helped achieve the parties’ goal of an efficient administration through the design and use of a “postcard notice” that saved approximately $5 million in printing and postage as compared to a more traditional notice. Rust also created and distributed more than 100,000 “virtual calling cards” worth more than $1.5 million and more than 10,000 product replacement vouchers of varying values.
Complex, Multiyear Settlement
When the court selected Rust to administer a multiyear, high-visibility, consumer-focused antitrust settlement, we managed a complex, multipart claims process that involved validation of product purchases, calculation and distribution of vouchers and the redemption of vouchers for cash. We handled enormous quantities: 17 million mailed notices, 7 million email notices, 720,000 claim forms, 700,000 vouchers and 250,000 checks worth $85 million. Rust is also managing an ongoing cy pres program.
Notice Program Reaches 88% of Audience
Rust and Kinsella worked together on a large settlement involving seven class action lawsuits. Kinsella designed a multi-million dollar notice program that reached 87.6% of the target audience and generated over 1,200 news stories, or “earned media.” More than 3 million people visited and 500,000 consumers filed claims through Rust’s settlement website.
3.4 Million Claims Filed Online
Rust and Kinsella Media worked with attorneys general from numerous states and the parties to design and implement a paid media and administration plan. Kinsella Media's paid media campaign reached nearly 90% of one target audience approximately five times each. Rust created one of the most-utilized and successful settlement websites in class action history, through which more than 3.4 million claims—over 98% of all claims—were filed, including over 140,000 on one day. Rust also distributed more than $140 million in cash and products to claimants.
Unique Plan to Acquire Class Member Data
Rust and the parties designed an administration plan through which Rust received product registration information for an initial 4.8 million class members from the defendant, adding more than 75,000 class members’ registration information throughout the program. Rust also worked with the parties to establish a claims-validation system based on the validation of model and serial number combinations. Rust mailed approximately 150,000 payments worth more than $3.6 million.
Innovative, Cost-Effective Notice
Rust notified over 4 million class members via email to meet the parties’ goals of a cost-effective notice solution. Rust’s innovative email notification program included metadata, which was used to track the class members’ identity. Class members could acknowledge agreement to the terms online by simply clicking a button on the website; they did not have to enter any identifying information.