Cubamax Travel, Inc. Settlement

You received a notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of a class action lawsuit known as Poirier v. Cubamax Travel, Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-23240-CMA and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to give Final Approval to the Settlement. This website explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is overseeing this case. The person who sued, Stephane Poirier, is called the “Plaintiff.” Cubamax is called the “Defendant.”

To review a copy of the Notice, click here.

The lawsuit alleges that Cubamax Travel, Inc. sent text messages to wireless telephone numbers without consent of the recipients, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”) and seeks actual and statutory damages under the TCPA on behalf of the named Plaintiff and a class of all individuals in the United States.

Cubamax denies each and every allegation of wrongdoing, liability, and damages that were or could have been asserted in the litigation and that the claims in the litigation would be appropriate for class treatment if the litigation were to proceed through trial.

The Plaintiff’s Complaint, Settlement Agreement, and other case-related documents are posted under the Important Documents page. The Settlement resolves the lawsuit. The Court has not decided who is right.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (commonly referred to as the “TCPA”) is a federal law that restricts telephone solicitations and the use of automated telephone equipment.

In a class action, one person called the “Class Representative” (in this case, Plaintiff Stephane Poirier) sues on behalf of himself and other people with similar claims.

All of the people who have claims similar to the Plaintiff’s are Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the class.

The Court has not found in favor of either Plaintiff or Cubamax. Instead, both sides have agreed to a settlement. By agreeing to the Settlement, the parties avoid the costs and uncertainty of a trial, and if the Settlement is approved by the Court, Settlement Class Claimants will receive the benefits described in the Notice. Cubamax denies all legal claims in this case. Plaintiff and his lawyers think the proposed Settlement is best for everyone who is affected.

The Settlement includes all persons who received a text message on their cell phone from Cubamax. Specifically, the Settlement is defined as:

All individuals residing in the United States (i) who were sent a text message (ii) on his or her cellular telephone (iii) using the Nexmo platform (iv) by or on behalf of Cubamax Travel, Inc. (v) promoting one of Cubamax Travel, Inc.’s specials, promotions, and/or locations (vi) from August 8, 2014 through January 3, 2019.

Persons meeting this definition are referred to collectively as the “Settlement Class” and, individually, as “Settlement Class Members.”

Excluded from the Settlement Class are:

1. The district judge and magistrate judge presiding over this case, the judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, their spouses, and persons within the third degree of relationship to either of them;
2. Individuals who are or were during the Class Period agents, directors, employees, officers, or servants of Cubamax or of any affiliate or parent of Cubamax;
3. Plaintiff’s counsel and their employees; and
4. All persons who file a timely and proper request to be excluded from the Settlement Class.

If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Class or have any other questions about the Settlement, please call the toll-free number, 1-877-698-3790. You also may send questions to the Settlement Administrator at Cubamax TCPA Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 4259, Portland, OR 97208-4259.

To fully settle and release claims of the Settlement Class Members, Cubamax has agreed to make payments to the Settlement Class Members and pay for notice and administration costs of the Settlement, attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by counsel for the Settlement Class, and a service award for Plaintiff (the “Settlement Fund”). Each Settlement Class member who timely files with the Settlement Administrator a valid Claim Form will receive a check for $7.00, less notice and administration costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses, and a service award.

The deadline to file a claim passed at 11:59 p.m. EST on July 5, 2019.

Payments to Settlement Class Members were sent on August 23, 2019 to those Class Members who submitted timely and valid claims.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement passed on May 21, 2019.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you gave up the right to sue Cubamax for the claims that the Settlement resolves. You must have excluded yourself from this Settlement Class in order to pursue your own lawsuit.

Unless you opted out of the Settlement, you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit against Cubamax about the issues in this case, including any existing litigation, arbitration, or proceeding. Unless you excluded yourself, all of the decisions and judgments by the Court bind you.

The Settlement Agreement is available here. The Settlement Agreement provides more detail regarding the Releases and describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions in necessary, accurate legal terminology, so read it carefully. You can talk to the law firms representing the Settlement Class listed in FAQ 15 for free, or you can, at your own expense, talk to your own lawyer if you have any questions about the Released Claims or what they mean.

No. You will not get a payment from the Settlement Fund if you excluded yourself from the Settlement.

The Court has appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” to represent all members of the Settlement Class.

You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by another lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense.

Class Counsel intend to request up to 18.6% of the value of the Settlement for attorneys’ fees plus reimbursement of reasonable, actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the litigation. The fees and expenses awarded by the Court will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. The Court will decide the amount of fees and expenses to award.

Class Counsel will also request that a Service Award of $5,000.00 be paid from the Settlement Fund to the Class Representative for his service as representative on behalf of the whole Settlement Class.

The deadline to object to the Settlement passed on May 21, 2019.

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

The Final Approval Hearing was held on June 20, 2019.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. However, you are welcome to attend the hearing at your own expense. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you submitted your written objection on time to the proper addresses and it complies with all the other requirements set forth above, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend the hearing, but it is not necessary.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, your timely filed objection must include a statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing (see FAQ 17).

You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

If you are a Settlement Class member and do nothing, meaning you do not file a timely Claim, you will not get benefits from the Settlement. Further, unless you exclude yourself, you will be bound by the judgment entered by the Court.

This website summarizes the proposed Settlement. You are urged to review more details in the Settlement Agreement. You may write with questions to the Settlement Administrator at Cubamax Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 4259, Portland, OR 97208-4259 or call the toll-free number, 1-877-698-3790.