The deadline has passed for people to claim part of a $12.5 million Cash App settlement over spam texts they received encouraging them to use the digital tool.
Residents in Washington state who received unsolicited texts from Block-owned Cash App had until Oct. 27 to file a claim or objection, or to exclude themselves from the class action settlement.
Each person filing a claim is expected to receive $88-$147, based on an estimate of no more than 5% of the 1,975,187 class members in Washington submitting valid claims, plaintiffs’ attorney Jennifer Rust Murray estimated in a Sept. 25 declaration supporting her motion for fees and costs.
“It is notoriously difficult to estimate the number of consumers who will submit claims,” Murray wrote.
U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman offered preliminary approval of the settlement on July 29. Her court colleague, District Judge John Chun, who was assigned the case in September, is scheduled to assess the agreement’s fairness at a Dec. 2 hearing, according to court records.
Murray and lawyers at her firm, Terrell Marshall Law Group in Seattle, are seeking 25% of the settlement, or $3.1 million, with about $8.7 million left to pay claims, according to court filings.
“The settlement compares favorably to other settlements involving claims for unwanted telemarketing texts and calls, particularly given the unique risks of this case,” Murray wrote. The plaintiffs declined to comment, Murray said in an Oct. 28 email.
Cash App did not respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment on the settlement. An executive with the settlement administrator, EisnerAmper, declined to comment Friday.
Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act prohibits companies and individuals from sending spam emails to state residents without their consent. State legislators broadened the law in 2003 to include text messages, with the prohibition also covering third parties who “initiate or assist” in transmitting those texts, according to court records in the case.
The lead plaintiff, Kimberly Bottoms, said she received text messages from people using CashApp’s Invite Friends feature, which lets users market the service to their contacts in exchange for a $5 referral bonus.
“Plaintiff did not understand why she was receiving annoying and harassing spam texts, which are a nuisance,” according to Bottoms’ complaint, filed against Cash App parent Block in November 2023 in Washington state court. The case was moved to federal court in Seattle the following month.
In December, Washington’s attorney general, Nick Brown, was allowed to intervene to defend the law’s constitutionality, which Block had questioned.
