Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
In this class action against Oracle America, Inc., the parties reached a settlement that received preliminary approval on August 9, 2024. Class members had until October 17, 2024, to opt out of the class, and nearly 500 did so. The settlement received final approval on November 15, 2024, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that approval on February 18, 2026. The settlement administrator, the Angeion Group, subsequently sent emails to class members about the upcoming distribution of settlement funds.
Absent class member David Pete received an email from Angeion on August 28, 2026, about the distribution. On September 8, 2026, he filed a motion for late exclusion from the settlement class, claiming he had not received earlier notice of the class certification and his ability to opt out. He argued he should be granted late exclusion on grounds of excusable neglect. Both Plaintiffs and Defendant Oracle opposed the motion, pointing out that Angeion's records definitively refuted Pete's claims because they showed he had actual notice and personally submitted a claim in 2024.
The Court’s Holding
The court applied the equitable test for excusable neglect from Pioneer Investment Services Co. v. Brunswick Associates Ltd. Partnership, as specifically applied to late opt-outs from class actions in Silber. That test directs courts to consider the degree of compliance with best practicable notice procedures, when notice was actually received, what caused the delay and whose responsibility it was, how quickly the belated opt-out request was made, how many class members want to opt out, and whether allowing a belated opt-out would affect the settlement or finality of the judgment. Courts may also consider the danger of prejudice to the opposing party and whether the movant acted in good faith.
The court found that Pete received actual notice in September 2024 at the same email address he listed when submitting his motion in September 2026. He received a reminder email on October 10, 2024, and later that day used his unique notice credentials to access and submit his online claim form. The information on that form matched his recent filings. The court concluded these facts were nearly fatal to his claims under Silber for relief based on excusable neglect. There was no dispute that the notice plan comported with best practicable notice procedures, and the evidence showed Pete received actual notice no later than October 2024, at least a week before the opt-out deadline. Rather than opting out, he submitted a claim.
The court rejected Pete's justifications for the delay, including his refuted claim of lack of notice and an unspecified ongoing dispute with Angeion. Even assuming he lacked notice of his dispute with Angeion until October 2025, he still waited nearly a year to file the motion for late exclusion. The court found that allowing an opt-out would set a perilous precedent that would undermine the finality of the settlement and judgment, rendering the idea of a deadline almost illusory if courts permitted class members who had actual notice and submitted timely settlement claims to opt out two years after the deadline and seven months after an appellate court affirmed final approval. The court concluded that all the Silber factors weighed against finding excusable neglect and denied the motion.
Key Takeaways
- A class member who receives actual notice of a settlement and submits a claim form cannot later claim excusable neglect for failing to opt out by the deadline, even if he claims not to remember the notice.
- The Silber factors for evaluating late opt-out requests from class action settlements include the degree of compliance with notice procedures, when notice was actually received, the cause of delay, how quickly the request was made, and the effect on settlement finality.
- Allowing a class member to opt out two years after the deadline and seven months after appellate affirmation of final approval would undermine the finality of class action settlements and render opt-out deadlines illusory.
- A dispute with a settlement administrator does not justify late exclusion from a class action settlement when the class member had actual notice and submitted a claim, and when there is no evidence the dispute will affect his rights as a class member.
- Good faith alone, such as a claimed lack of memory of submitting a claim, does not make neglect excusable under the Pioneer and Silber tests for late opt-outs from class action settlements.
Why It Matters
This order reinforces the importance of finality in class action settlements and the difficulty of obtaining late exclusion after the opt-out deadline has passed. It demonstrates that actual notice and affirmative participation in the settlement process, such as submitting a claim form, will defeat claims of excusable neglect. The decision also shows that courts will strictly apply the Pioneer and Silber factors to prevent class members from undermining settled expectations and bargained-for finality, particularly after appellate courts have affirmed settlement approval.