Latest document history from PACER. (if judge signed order on motion to disburse, it was not filed yet...)

2:04-cv-02819-SRC-MAS SULLIVAN et al v. DB INVESTMENTS, INC. et al
Stanley R. Chesler, presiding
M. A. Shipp, referral
Date filed: 06/14/2004
Date terminated: 05/27/2008
Date of last filing: 04/09/2013

History

Doc.
No. Dates Description

Filed: 04/09/2013
Entered: 04/10/2013
Set/Reset Motion and R&R Deadlines/Hearings
447
Filed & Entered: 04/09/2013
Motion for Disbursement of Funds

What a fucking joke, the administrators dont return email request s for updates and drag their feet to payout,thr ciurts let them do this. We all need to contact the ckury thay issued the ruling and have them put a foot in the adminstratots ass. Alk the time they had this shit and couldn't do audits then? Pure bullshit!!

RE"#138 diane madison 2013-04-20 16:46
i want to on went is my check come you in jan in"

WHAT???? my seeing-device fell out and this makes no sense...

i want to on went is my check come you in jan in

i called on april 12, he told me that the checks would be coming out in a few months. i couldn't pin him down but he intimated that it could take as long as a year.

think of all the money that might be left over from people that have moved and or died or moved over seas gone to jail or what ever

Lasts Dec 2012 I asked the CA when payments to the consumer class would go out and the CA replied in the new few months. This latest March 2013 update says payments to the Reseller Subclass Net Settlement Fund were just sent and that payments to other subclasses would go out in the next few months. So I guess the CA lied to me in Dec 2012 because Consumer payments should have gone out this last round. How many more times are Consumers going to be bypassed for other sub classes?

And who among us will really be surprised when it drags out for years to come?

The 3/15 update says "within a few months," same as the update a few months ago. Who's getting the interest on all this money?

I have filed my complaint regarding Rust Consulting with the Minnesota Attorney General. I recommend that others do the same. To talk to a live person at Diamond Class Action, the number to call is 1-800-572-3624.

Good luck to everyone.

I am not sure why I need to read all the comments posted, I just want to receive my check.
Thank You,

Why are the dealers in on this suit, they up the price 300% over there cost. I worked for a jewelry store and that's how they priced items. Where is their loss, and they get there money first.

If the audits are done, how many consumer claimants are there?

So just a casual poll - how many of you are loose diamond purchasers ?

Dolores: I haven't been asked for any documentation but I believe only people with larger claims were POSSIBLY going to have to provide proof of purchase. My smaller claim didn't require anything although I too have it in an envelope waiting just in case I'm asked.

To Melissa: I am thinking the dealers got paid first because there was a substantially smaller volume of them. They were also paid from a separate fund.

To What: I had hoped I would have my check by now, but both of the reps I talked to on the phone said three-to-four months. It may be that the final audit is complete and that is how long it will take for the court to approve. Who knows. I am am reasonably certain I won't have my check by mid-February.

3-4 months??? hopefully 3-4 weeks

Disregard my previous post...that number was for the Authorized Resellers claimants to get a live voice.

The number for the consumer subclass is (800) 572-3624

Can you tell me what number you called to change your address. I wrote them - heard nothing - emailed - heard nothing - just want to know they have my address. Do you have a email address also. Thank you

Thanks for the info Adam (comment 103). How did you get a live voice on the phone? I have been trying for a couple of months to confirm my address change I submitted two years ago...

From what I can ascertain from postings....I do not think we can have any kind of an educated guess unless we know the number of approved claims in our respective class. This may be incorrect, but, do take a minute and peruse the following from another poster:

https://diamondsclassaction.com/pdfs/Consumer-ResellerNotice.pdf

Examples:

Mixed Stones Jewelry - Less than $200 - 6% of the retail price
Mixed Stones Jewelry - More than $200 - 14.5% of the retail price

Diamonds Only Jewelry - Less than $200 - 10.5% of the retail price
Diamonds Only Jewelry - $10,000 or more - 45% of the retail price

Loose Diamonds - Any Amount - 59% of the retail price
That's not the amount you'll get back, that's the adjustment they'll make to see what _share_ of the pie you get.

So, if there were $1,000 to be divided (just to make up #s), and the only people in the class were person A who bought a $10k diamond ring and person B who bought a $5000 loose diamond, then:
Person A: $10k *.45 = 4500 "points"
Person B: $5k *.59 = 2950 "points"
Total = 7450 "points"
$1000/7450 = $0.134/point
Person A gets 4500*.134 = $604
Person B gets 2950*.134 = $396

Found this article. I think its the one Mark is referring too. http://www.jckonline.com/blogs/cutting-remarks/2012/09/06/surprise-people-are-happy-their-de-beers-class-action-checks

Any new news?

The retail jewelry store I work for received their check in October so they are on thre way!

My claim was for $17,000. If and when I get a check I will post the amount I received.

Why is consumer class taken so long ? Holding our portion until dealers get more money?

If the checks are coming in dec then debeers site should be updating where they went to court for approval of consumer class. They really don't care about the consumers just their cut of the money.

Time to pay up !!!

Anhcim- when you said next distrubtion in 180 days- were you referring to rest of dealers money or is that the time you believe consumers will get their checks. Also anyone actually knowing ball park number of consumers in class.

Oh, and the check came the first week of September. If you are a reseller and you have not received your check, something is wrong and you should notify the administrator (Rust) online. They are very responsive to e-mails and will check for you asap. if you used a service like Class Action Refund or a company like that to fill out the easy forms -if you had the backup, like checks- (You were suckered into thinking you could not do it yourself?... Dumb..) then you need to check with the service provider because they have had your money now for a month or they did something wrong.

If there are any true...Authoriz ed Reseller Claimants that received their checks reading this; was your check as expected; more or less. Would appreciate a response.

----- Original Message ----- At: Aug 31 2012 11:13:22 If your claim is accepted, your payment amount will be based on several factors, including how much you paid, the quantity and quality of the diamonds you purchased, the amount of money that is available for your Class or Subclass, and how many Class Members file claims. Your Claim Form gives more information describing how your payment will be calculated. Additional details regarding how your payment will be calculated are found in Appendix B of the Long Form Notice. There is no way to tell Consumer Subclass Members how much, if any, they will receive from the settlement proceeds before the Claim Administrator has finished processing all consumer claims submitted. When the Claim Administrator receives your claim, it will first calculate the “recognized claim amount” for your purchases by applying a recognized claim percentage to the price(s) you paid for your diamond jewelry or loose diamond. This is done so that the claims of all Consumer Subclass members will be based on the wholesale value of the polished diamonds in the jewelry, and not on the value of the setting (gold, platinum and/or other precious or semi-precious stones) or the retailer’s mark-up. A more complete description of this process can be found in Appendix C to the Class Notice. Once all recognized claim amounts have been computed and verified, the distribution to all eligible claimants will be made pro rata. That means that each claimant’s payment will be calculated as a proportion of the total recognized claim amounts of all claims being paid. In the event that the total of the recognized claim amounts for all Consumer Subclass members is high, the actual payout of settlement proceeds to any eligible claimant will be less than the recognized claim amount of the claimant’s total purchases. No claimant will receive more than the total recognized claim amount for all the diamond jewelry or loose diamonds that he/she purchased. There is also the possibility that the pro rata computation for some claims will result in payments of under $10.00, which are too small to process because of the administrative cost of distributing checks. Those claimants will not receive any payment. Dia monds Claims Administrator

I suppose we need to remember that the folks doing the paperwork are getting paid by the hour.... Still, in my mind I see a single employee, much resembling Bob Cratchit, as the sun rises over the horizon, sitting at an uncomfortable desk, bent over a single candle, hand writing each accounting of each claim in long hand, then preparing the check, again in long hand, walking it across an icy cold stone-floored room to an employer, much like Scrooge, and then standing there patiently until the employer acknowledges his presence and signs the single check a few hours later. The employee then waits for the Scrooge to also supply a single stamp, then places the check and a hand-written in long hand copy of the documentation in the envelope, again addressing the envelope in long hand and finally affixing the stamp to the envelope. By now, the sun has long ago set over the opposite horizon from when his day began. He trudges through the snow, wind and sleet, uphill to the post office where he deposits the single envelope then heads home to sleep for the day as tomorrow they have to rise early and do the same routine all over again. Who knows, maybe it will be yours or mine check that makes it to the mail the following day.... =])

court okays first checks. http://www.jckonline.com/2012/08/20/court-okays-first-de-beers-class-action-checks

No checks have been mailed. I phoned the (800) number listed above today to check status and verify that my address was current. I was told no checks have been mailed and that they are still completing the final audits of claims. Anyone who claims they got a check is plain lying.

Rec'd check today. Live in DFW area. Claim total amount was around $15,000. Wife confiscated check for around $3,000.

Consumers not to get checks by end of year? Everyone should get a check at same time. Dealers will claim they got shorted and will try to get at the rest of money.

here is some simple math to think about. we know they settled for $295 million. assuming 1/3 will be distributed to consumers after lawyers and fees leaves approx $98 million. divide $98 million by the number of claims and you'll get an average pay-out per person. Lets say each claim is worth $2k per claim, that would be a total of 50,000 claims. do you think there are more then 50,000 individual claims or less?

Mark-- you made comment before that you thought final approval was going to be sought in a few weeks. My question is the approval done behind closed doors or will we be able to seem somewhere where the court gives permission for administration?

I am a retired jewelry store owner who bought hundreds of thousands of diamonds during the allowable period for a claim. I am not getting my hopes up for a large check. My suggestion to all who bought as a consumer is to move on and not waste any more time on this. This is a typical class action suit...unless you suffered loss of life or limb ...YOU LOOSE! I have no idea how many jewelers submitted claims but would love to know.

Also, when people say they know the funds are getting "soaked up" they are saying they really don't know anything and are just venting. Yes, the administrator is getting paid to review claims and determine if they are valid, how much is to be paid, to whom. If you think this is an easy task, given that most consumers don't keep good records or that in the case of some stores, the records may require audits or asking for more detail and compounded by the fact that this covered a 12 year period, you can see this is not an easy task.

I am not sure that I understand all of this. I do know that it has been a long time since I joined the suit. I also know that someone is soaking up the funds by delaying the distribution of the settlement. What puzzles me is why people would take the time to lie about checks. Why not give us some credible feedback and specific dates when the funds will be distributed?

When are they going to mail those checks out? This has been going on for years!

Per the administrator phone number no claims have been paid as yet.

Just received a settlement check for $35 for $7000 loose diamond purchase

No checks have been sent out the lies has to stop or don't post.

has this gone to court for administative accept or reject of claims? will the web site at debeers lawsuit give any more updates. we all know those saying they got checks are lying.

When will we realize that we are not going to win the lottery when it comes to class actions. The only persons getting rich are the lawyers. I called months ago to enquire how the suit was progressing, spoke with a delightful young lady with boiler room noises in the background. Years ago I was invoved in a class action suit concerning house siding, received $1,000 to reside a 4600 sq ft house. I didn't want to make money, just cover the cost of residing a 5 year old home. Remember: Only the Lawyers make money on these suits.

Deon, you can call 1-800-572-3624 to talk to a live person about your claim.

Contact Information If you would like information on the class of Direct Purchasers, contact the administrator at: Diamond Settlement Administrator: Direct Purchaser Diamonds Claim Administrator P .O. Box 24761 West Palm Beach, FL 33416 Email: Administratordiamondsclassaction.com Tel: 1-800-760-5431 or if you are calling from overseas (612)-359-2002 If you would like information regarding the Resellers class, contact the administrator at: Diamond Settlement Administrator: Diamonds Claims Administrator P .O. Box 9432 Minneapoli s, MN 55440-9432 Ema il: Administratordiamondsclassaction.com Tel: 1-800-760-5431 or if you are calling from overseas (612)-359-2002 If you would like information regarding the Consumers class, contact the administrator at: Diamond Settlement Administrator: Diamonds Settlement Administrator P .O. Box 9432 Minneapoli s, MN 55440-9432 Ema il: Administratordiamondsclassaction.com Tel: 1-800-760-5431 or if you are calling from overseas (612)-359-2002

You know, it's been so long since I filed (for about $20,000 on just the diamonds alone), that while I still have all my documentation that I sent, I can't help but imagine my claim being just lost in the mess somewhere. If I get a check, fine -- it likely won't be enough to make a huge difference for me. If I don't get a check -- well, we have amazing rings still. Okay, it'd be really nice to get my check just to have it over. :o)

Anyone who claims they have recieved a check on this is lying. The claims admin has stated that NO payments have been made out yet at all.

Forget about it kids....got check yesterday for $76.33. Sent claims for just over $50,000 in diamond purchases. Wasn't worth my time to get receipts for diamonds.

ANYONE who reported receiving a check either has this confused with the diamond walnut case or is plane lying. No one has received a dime as the administrator has not filed the final claim(s) audit with the court, which audit is to be filed shortly and prior to the distribution of any checks. Checks are anticipated to go out (again after court approval) within 60-75 days.

Of course, the lawyers will get the bulk of the settlement. As usual. Such a scam. Getting our hopes up, only to have the lawyers walk away with the settlement.

Sid- unfortunately, PACER is the only source I know of. As to your calculation, I did the same math myself and came to the same conclusion. However, given the number of claims, I find it highly unlikely that claims are going to be paid out at exactly 5.00000000% of the maximum recognized claim. My speculation would be that Rust Consulting was just estimating, and that actual claims will be paid off at just over or just under 5%. I think, though, that you could use the formula claim * maximum % * 5% to get an estimate of your claim. However , I did some alternative calculations using my own claim as well as half of Murray's claim and they are all about 2% of the total claim, give or take. So it is a good rough guesstimate. As I said, your mileage may vary.

SJ- Thank you for the info. Do you know a website where I can access the info without going through PACER?

You can figure out what % of your claim you are going to get generally from the filings of the claims administrator before the court compared to what the objectors to the settlement have claimed. David T. Murray's claim (which was filed publicly) was for $15,000 in diamond purchases. In a public filing, Rust Consulting said that based on their math, he was going to get $289 out of the settlement. So he is getting about 1.9 cents on the dollar of his claim. There is a sliding scale for claims (lower dollar claims get less of a % of their claim) according to the settlement, but you could probably use a 2% figure as a rough guesstimate. Your mileage may vary.

The website gives a breakdown of what to expect for the indirect purchasers (like me) and basically says for the $15,000 total in purchases I made during that time period, I should expect a 32% refund check. Why do I keep then reading that the payouts will essentially be peanuts?

On the claim form it said the max amount you could recieve is $640. i think alot of people are going to be upset because they keep throwing out large dollar amounts that they paid for their diamonds. It seems that alot of people put in for this and we all probally lucky to get more than the min. $10.

I hope you all sent your claim the way I sent mine, via registered mail where you received back a green card. If you did, I hope you kept it. I did. I can't remember if I sent proof of purchase when I filed but I have that also. We bought a large, loose diamond for over $7000 and a cross necklace with one small perfect diamond in it. It's not a small amount and if you own a diamond you should have all the certification, as well as the receipts in a safe place with your other documents. My only concern here is that they don't contact everyone for their validation or proof of purchase. I wonder how long we should wait until we hear from them and become concerned they missed our claim?

AJ- The address is: Diamond Claims Administrator PO Box 9432 Minneapolis, Mn 55440-9432

So the administrator has had 6 years to prepare for the distribution, and they still need time to verify claims? Unreal. They shoud have had this ready to go a long time ago. I hope they pay a decent interest amount and make the extra weight worthwhile

Very excited to read this news as I invested a large amount of money in diamonds and gold. Just wish I knew when we would be getting this all cleared up. Any idea how to contact these people to get our assigned claim number (?) )and if and when they will request records of purchases....

The amount you should get as far as percentages has not changed. The information can be found here: https://diamondsclassaction.com/pdfs/Consumer-ResellerNotice.pdf#page=9 under section CONSUMER DIAMOND PRODUCT TABLE

Angela - how could you have gotten your settlement 'a few weeks ago'? Today is June 8, 2012. Including May 21, 2012 and excluding May 31, 2012 only today stand at 14 business days. The Diamond Class Action Settlement website says verbatim: "On May 21, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the final petition for review. The claims administrator is conducting final claim audits, and distribution of settlement funds should take place within the next few months. "

There was a rice crispie settlement a few months ago. Maybe Angela is talking about that settlement. Or maybe she got fruit loop settlement (lol). Sorry Angela no debeers checks yet. Keep watching your mailbox.

I wonder if Angela, who commented that she already got her check, will share with us the amount she got in relation to the amount she filed for, One percent? Two percent? We are all curious. Please and thanks, Angela.

Why are those who had a frivilous lawsuit who tied up the moneis not get sued for interest and additional expenses. Now there's the money. Debeers would be smiling as they pay the settlement.

By the way, kudos to this web site for finding this out. If you go to the official web site "diamondsclassa ction.com" they have not even updated this info in a week, as of today!

What? I was never informed about this Class Action Lawsuit, and I paid about $2500 for my former wife's ring set!.

Finally. Maybe I can get back the $11k I spent on a ring given to a woman I am no longer married to!