Frequently Asked Questions

No, you are not being sued.

This Action concerns “forfeitures.” Under the Plan, Caliber makes matching contributions to participants’ individual Plan accounts. Participants must work for at least three years to “vest” in their employer contributions (they are always 100% vested in their own contributions). Those who leave sooner “forfeit” any unvested amounts as set forth in the Plan. Here, Plaintiff claims that ERISA required Defendant to use forfeitures to pay the Plan’s administrative expenses, and that Defendant instead improperly used forfeitures to fund matching contributions to participants’ accounts. Based on this alleged conduct regarding the allocation of Plan forfeitures, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant violated its fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty under ERISA, violated ERISA’s anti-inurement clause, and engaged in transactions prohibited by ERISA.

Defendant denies each of the claims and allegations made in the Action and denies that it ever engaged in any wrongful conduct.  If the Action were to continue, Defendant would raise numerous defenses to liability, including:

• Plaintiff’s claims fail on the merits. The conduct that Plaintiff challenges complies with over sixty years of legal guidance that permits the use of forfeitures to offset employer contributions.
• Plaintiff’s prohibited transaction claims also fail under ERISA because the Complaint concedes that the forfeitures remained within the Plan and were allocated to participant accounts, which is not a “transaction” prohibited by ERISA.
• Plaintiff’s anti-inurement claim further fails under ERISA because the Complaint concedes that the Plan used forfeitures to provide benefits to participants, exactly as ERISA requires.

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you fall within the definition of the Settlement Class preliminarily approved by Judge Amos L. Mazzant:

“All persons who participated in the Plan at any time during the Class Period, including any Beneficiary of a deceased Person who participated in the Plan at any time during the Class Period, and any Alternate Payee of a Person subject to a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (“QDRO”) who participated in the Plan at any time during the Class Period.”

The “Class Period” referred to in this definition is from September 10, 2019 to September 14, 2026.

As in any litigation, all parties face an uncertain outcome.  On the one hand, continuation of the case against Defendant could result in a judgment greater than this Settlement.  On the other hand, continuing the case could result in Plaintiff obtaining no recovery at all or obtaining a recovery that is less than the amount of the Settlement.  Based on these factors, Plaintiff and Class Counsel have concluded that the proposed Settlement is in the best interests of all Settlement Class members.

Provided that the Settlement becomes Final, a Settlement Fund consisting of Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($750,000.00) will be established in the Action.  The amount of money that will be allocated among members of the Settlement Class, after the payment of any taxes and Court-approved costs, fees, and expenses, including attorneys’ fees and expenses of Class Counsel, any Court-approved Case Contribution Award to be paid to the Class Representative, and payment of expenses incurred in calculating the Settlement payments and administering the Settlement, is called the Net Settlement Amount.  The Net Settlement Amount will not be known until these other amounts are quantified and deducted.  The Net Settlement Amount will be allocated to members of the Settlement Class according to a Plan of Allocation to be approved by the Court.  The Plan of Allocation describes how Settlement payments will be distributed to Settlement Class members who receive a payment.

If the Settlement is approved by the Court, all Settlement Class Members and anyone claiming through them shall be deemed to fully release the Released Parties from Released Claims.

The Released Parties are (a) Defendant; (b) Defendant’s insurers, co-insurers, and reinsurers; (c) Defendant’s direct and indirect past, present, and future affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, divisions, joint ventures, predecessors, successors, successors-in-interest, assigns, boards of trustees, boards of directors, officers, trustees, directors, partners, principals, agents, managers, members, employees or heirs (including any individuals who serve or served in any of the foregoing capacities, such as members of the boards of trustees or boards of directors that are associated with any of Defendant’s past, present, and future affiliates), and each Person that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with them; (d) the Plan and the Plan’s current and past fiduciaries, administrators, plan administrators, recordkeepers, service providers, consultants, attorneys, agents, insurers and parties-in-interest; and (e) Defendant’s independent contractors, representatives, attorneys, administrators, insurers, fiduciaries, accountants, auditors, advisors, consultants, personal representatives, spouses, heirs, executors, administrators, associates, employee benefit plan fiduciaries (with the exception of the Independent Fiduciary), employee benefit plan administrators, service providers to the Plan (including their owners and employees), members of their immediate families, consultants, subcontractors, and all persons acting under, by, through or in concert with any of them.

The above description of the proposed Settlement is only a summary.  The complete terms, including the definitions of the Released Parties and Released Claims, are set forth in the Settlement Agreement (including its exhibits), which may be obtained here.

You do not need to file a claim.  The Entitlement Amount for Settlement Class members with an Active Account (an account with a positive balance) as of the calculation of the Final Entitlement Amount (unless that Plan account is closed the intervening period between the calculation of the Final Entitlement Amount and the payment of the Final Entitlement Amount, in which case that Class Member will receive their allocation via a check) will be paid into the Plan.  Former Participants will be paid by check directly by the Settlement Administrator.

All such payments are intended by the Settlement Class to be “restorative payments” in accordance with Internal Revenue Service Revenue Ruling 2002-45.  Checks issued to Former Participants pursuant to this paragraph shall be valid for 180 days from the date of issue.

If you are a former Plan participant and have not provided the Plan with your current address, please contact Class Counsel.

Each Class Member who receives a payment under this Settlement Agreement shall be fully and ultimately responsible for payment of any and all federal, state, or local taxes resulting from or attributable to the payment received by such person.

Each Settlement Class member’s share will be calculated according to a Court-approved Plan of Allocation by a third-party vendor (“Settlement Administrator”) selected by Class Counsel.  You are not required to calculate the amount you may be entitled to receive under the Settlement as the Settlement Administrator will do so under the Plan of Allocation.  In general, your proportionate share of the Settlement will be calculated as follows:

• The sum of the Expenses deducted from each Class Member’s Plan account for each year of the Class Period will be determined using the Plan’s Recordkeeper data. This amount shall be that Class Member’s “Expense Balance.”
• Each Class Member shall receive a share of the Net Settlement Amount in proportion to that Class Member’s Expense Balance as compared to the sum of the Expense Balance of all Class Members, i.e., where the numerator is the Class Member’s Expense Balance and the denominator is the sum of the Expense Balance of all Class Members.
• The amount resulting from this initial calculation shall be known as the Class Member’s “Preliminary Entitlement Amount.” Any Class Member that is a Former Participant whose Preliminary Entitlement Amount is less than $10.00 (the “Former Participant De Minimis Amount”) shall not receive any payment from the Net Settlement Amount. Any Class Member that is an Active Participant whose Preliminary Entitlement Amount is less than $1 (the “Current Participant De Minimis Amount”) shall not receive any payment from the Net Settlement Amount.
• The Settlement Administrator shall reallocate the entire Net Settlement Amount pro rata, in proportion to Expense Balances, among the Class Members whose Preliminary Entitlement Amounts equal or exceed the Former Participant or Active Participant De Minimis Amount. The amount resulting from this reallocation shall be the “Final Entitlement Amount” for each such Class Member.

You will not be required to produce records that show your Plan activity.  If you are entitled to a share of the Settlement Fund, your share of the Settlement will be determined based on the Plan’s records for your account.  If you have questions regarding the allocation of the Net Settlement Amount, please contact Class Counsel.

The Court has preliminarily appointed the law firm of Chirinos Law Firm PLLC, Milberg PLLC, Bloom Legal, and Kendall Law Group LLC as Class Counsel for the Named Plaintiff in the Action.  You will not be charged directly by these lawyers.  If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

You do not have the right to exclude yourself from the Settlement.  The Settlement Agreement provides for certification of the Settlement Class as a non-opt-out class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(1), and the Court has preliminarily determined that the requirements of that rule have been satisfied.  Thus, it is not possible for any Settlement Class members to exclude themselves from the Settlement.  As a Settlement Class member, you will be bound by any judgments or orders that are entered in the Action for all claims that were or could have been asserted in the Action or are otherwise released under the Settlement.

Although you cannot opt out of the Settlement, you can object to the Settlement and ask the Court not to approve it.  For more information on how to object to the Settlement, see the next FAQ.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the Settlement if you do not like any part of it.  You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it.  To object, you must send a letter or other writing saying that you object to the Settlement in Fordyce v. Wand Newco 3, Inc. d/b/a Caliber Collision, No. 4:25-cv-00997-ALM.  Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, signature, and a full explanation of all the reasons why you object to the Settlement.  You must file your objection with the Clerk of the Court of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas so that it is received no later than December 15, 2026.  The address is:

United States District Clerk
United States Courthouse
7940 Preston Road, Room 101
Plano, TX 75024

The objection must refer prominently to this case name: Fordyce v. Wand Newco 3, Inc. d/b/a Caliber Collision, No. 4:25-cv-00997-ALM.

A copy of your objection must also be provided to Class Counsel and Defense Counsel by email (writing “Fordyce v. Caliber Settlement” in the subject line) or by mailing the objection to the following respective addresses for Class and Defense Counsel:

Class Counsel
Tulio D. Chirinos
CHIRINOS LAW FIRM PLLC
20283 State Road 7, Suite 592
Boca Raton, FL 33498
tchirinos@chirinoslawfirm.com

Defense Counsel
Jeremy P. Blumenfeld
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
2222 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
jeremy.blumenfeld@morganlewis.com

The Fairness Hearing currently is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on January 14, 2027, at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, or such other courtroom as the Court may designate.

The Court may adjourn the Fairness Hearing without further notice to the Settlement Class and also may schedule the hearing to be done by telephone or video conference.  If you wish to attend, you should confirm the date and time of the Fairness Hearing with Class Counsel before doing so. Any updates to the date, time, or venue of the Fairness Hearing will be posted on this website.

At that hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate.  If there are objections, the Court will consider them.  The Court will also rule on the motions for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of expenses and for Case Contribution Award for the Class Representative. The Parties do not know how long these decisions will take or whether appeals will be filed.

No, but you are welcome to come at your own expense.  If you file an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it.  As long as you mailed your written objection on time, it will be before the Court when the Court considers whether to approve the Settlement.  You also may pay your own lawyer to attend the Fairness Hearing, but such attendance is also not necessary.

If you submit a written objection to the Settlement to the Court and counsel before the Court-approved deadline, you may (but do not have to) attend the Fairness Hearing and present your objections to the Court.  You may attend the Fairness Hearing even if you do not file a written objection, but you will only be allowed to speak at the Fairness Hearing if you file a written objection in advance of the Fairness Hearing AND you file a Notice of Intention To Appear, as described in this paragraph.  To do so, you must file with the Court a letter or other paper called a “Notice of Intention To Appear at Fairness Hearing in Fordyce v. Wand Newco 3, Inc. d/b/a Caliber Collision, No. 4:25-cv-00997-ALM.”  Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and your signature.  Your Notice of Intention To Appear must be received by the attorneys listed in the answer to “How do I tell the court that I do not like the Settlement?”, no later than December 15, 2026, and must be filed with the Clerk of the Court at the address listed in the answer to “How do I tell the court that I do not like the Settlement?”.

You may email the Settlement Administrator at Caliber401kSettlement@noticeadministrator.com, or call toll-free at 888-714-2152.