Bumpus v. Realogy Holdings Corp.

The Email or Postcard notice you received is to tell you about the settlement of a class action lawsuit, Bumpus et al. v. Realogy Holdings Corp. et al. brought on behalf of people who received certain calls from Coldwell Banker-affiliated real estate agents in alleged violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). You received the notice because you may be a member of the group of people affected, called the “class.” The notice gives you a summary of the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, explains what rights class members have, and helps class members make informed decisions about what action to take.

Read the notice and each of these FAQs to understand the settlement and to determine if you are a class member. Then, decide if you want to:

Read on to understand the specifics of the settlement and what each choice would mean for you.

Your deadline to submit a claim form: July 3, 2025

Your deadline to object or opt-out: July 3, 2025

Settlement approval hearing: August 28, 2025

On June 11, 2019, a class action lawsuit was filed against Realogy Holdings Corp., Realogy Intermediate Holdings LLC, Realogy Group LLC, Realogy Services Group LLC, and Realogy Brokerage Group LLC (collectively, “Defendants”). The lawsuit claims that Defendants, through their Coldwell Banker-affiliated real estate agents, violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by calling Plaintiffs and others to solicit real estate business on telephone numbers registered on the National Do Not Call Registry and/or by calling Plaintiffs and others using a prerecorded message. The TCPA entitles consumers who prove they received illegal calls to recover money damages and get a court order stopping the calls. You can get a complete copy of the proposed settlement and other key documents in this lawsuit here.

The Defendants deny that they did anything wrong.

A class action settlement is an agreement between the parties to resolve and end the case. Settlements can provide money to class members. In 2024, the parties agreed to settle, which means they have reached an agreement to resolve the lawsuit. Both sides want to avoid the risk and expense of further litigation.

The Court has not decided this case in favor of either side.

The Court will hold a Fairness hearing to decide whether to approve the settlement. The hearing will be held at:

Where: Courtroom 11 on the 19th Floor before Honorable James Donato at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102

When: 10:00 a.m. on August 28, 2025.

The Court has directed the parties to send you the notice about the proposed settlement. Because the settlement of a class action decides the rights of all members of the proposed class, the Court must give final approval to the settlement before it can take effect. Payments will only be made if the Court approves the settlement.

You don’t have to attend, but you may at your own expense. You may also ask the Court for permission to speak and express your opinion about the settlement. If the Court does not approve the settlement or the parties decide to end it, it will be void and the lawsuit will continue. The date of the hearing may change without further notice to members of the class. To learn more and confirm the hearing date, check this website for updates.

Defendants have agreed to pay $20 million into a settlement fund. This money will be divided among the class members and will also be used to pay for costs and attorney's fees approved by the Court, including the cost of administering this settlement (expected to be approximately $315,000).

Members of the settlement classes will “release” their claims as part of the settlement, which means they cannot sue Defendants for the same issues in this lawsuit. The full terms of the release can be found in Settlement Agreement.

The easiest way is to visit the settlement website. Enter your telephone number and last name here, and you will learn if your number is included.

The formal class definition is based upon call records obtained in the case. It includes:

1. The “NDNC Class” - all persons in the United States who received two or more calls, as indicated by non-zero call durations and/or disposition codes other than “No Answer,” “NO_ANSWER,” or “NOANSWER,” made by a Coldwell Banker-affiliated real estate agent using a Mojo, PhoneBurner, and/or Storm dialer in any 12-month period on a residential landline or cell phone number that appeared on the National Do Not Call Registry for at least 31 days for the time period beginning June 11, 2015 and ending December 3, 2020;
2. The “Prerecorded Messages Class” - all persons in the United States who received a call on their residential telephone line or cell phone number with an artificial or prerecorded message, as indicated by the following call disposition codes: (i) ‘Drop Message’ (if using the Mojo dialer), (ii) ATTENDED_TRANSFER’ (if using the Storm dialer), and (iii) ‘VOICEMAIL’ (if using a PhoneBurner dialer) and made by a Coldwell Banker-affiliated real estate agent for the time period beginning June 11, 2015, and ending December 3, 2020.

While we cannot know the amount each Settlement Class Member will receive until all claims are submitted, if 15% of Settlement Class Members make timely Approved Claims, then each Settlement Class Member who submits an Approved Claim will receive approximately $281. This number is only an estimate and could be higher or lower depending on the number of claims submitted.

Actual payments will be calculated based on the total number of claims submitted.

You have four options. You can stay in the settlement and submit a claim, you can opt out of the settlement, you can object to the settlement, or you can do nothing. This chart shows the effects of each option:

If you wish to receive money, you must submit a completed claim form to the Settlement Administrator online here or by downloading a claim form here and mailing to the Settlement Administrator (address below).

In a class action, the court appoints class representatives and lawyers to work on the case and represent the interests of all the class members. For this settlement, the Court has appointed the following individuals and lawyers:

Your lawyers: George Granade (Reese LLP), Michael Reese (Reese LLP). These are the lawyers who negotiated this settlement on your behalf.

If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Lawyers' fees and costs will be paid from the Settlement Fund. You will not have to pay the lawyers directly.

To date, your lawyers have not been paid any money for their work or the expenses that they have paid for the case. To pay for some of their time and risk in bringing this case without any guarantee of payment unless they were successful, your lawyers will request that the Court approve a payment of up to $6 million total in attorneys’ fees, plus the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses of $892,373.

Lawyers' fees and expenses will only be awarded if approved by the Court as a fair and reasonable amount. You have the right to object to the lawyers' fees even if you think the settlement terms are fair.

Your lawyers will also ask the Court to approve a payment of up to $5,000 each to the Class Representatives for the time and effort they contributed to the case. If approved by the Court, this will be paid from the Settlement Fund.

You can opt out. If you do, you will not receive payment and cannot object to the settlement. However, you will not be bound or affected by anything that happens in this lawsuit and may be able to file your own case.

If you do not wish to participate in the settlement you must complete the Opt-Out form available here, and mail it to the Settlement Administrator (address below) postmarked by July 3, 2025 or mail a letter to the Settlement Administrator postmarked by July 3, 2025, stating an intention to be “excluded” from this Settlement that includes your name, address, the telephone number(s) you received a telephone communication covered by this Settlement, and your signature. Mail the completed Opt-Out form or letter to:

Realogy TCPA Settlement
P.O. Box 4068
Portland OR 97208-4068

If you disagree with any part of the settlement but don’t want to opt out, you may object. You must give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it and say whether your objection applies to just you, a part of the classes, one entire class, or both classes. The Court will consider your views. The Court can only approve or deny the settlement — it cannot change the terms of the settlement. You may, but don’t need to, hire your own lawyer to help you.

To object, you must send a letter to the Court that:

1. is postmarked by July 3, 2025;
2. includes the case name and number (Bumpus et al. v. Realogy Holding Corp. and 3:19-cv-03309-JD);
3. includes your full name, address and telephone number;
4. includes the name, address, and telephone number of any attorney representing you with respect to the objection;
5. includes documents showing the telephone number(s) at which you received calls from a Coldwell-Banker affiliated real estate agent;
6. states the reasons for your objection; and
7. lists the case names, case numbers, and court for any prior case in which you and your lawyer (if applicable) have objected to a proposed class action settlement.

File the letter with the Court or mail the letter to:

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102

If you do nothing, you will not get any money, but you will still be bound by the settlement and its “release” provisions. That means you won’t be able to start, continue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendants about the issues in this case. A full description of the claims and persons who will be released if this settlement is approved can be found in the Settlement Agreement available here.

The notice is a summary of the proposed settlement. The complete settlement with all its terms can be found here on the website. To get a copy of the settlement agreement or get answers to your questions:

• contact your lawyers (information below)
• visit the Important Documents page on this website
• access the Court’s PACER system online or by visiting the Clerk’s office of the Court (address below).