MILWAUKEE, Wis., May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Shepherd, Finkelman,
Miller & Shah, LLC (http://www.sfmslaw.com; e-mail: ddehler@sfmslaw.com), a
law firm with offices in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey and Wisconsin, and the Law Offices of James C. Mentkowski, S.C.,
a law firm in Wisconsin, announce that the Circuit Court for Milwaukee
County, Wisconsin, the Honorable David A. Hansher presiding, has
preliminarily approved a settlement on behalf of residential tenants who
rented properties from Timothy J. Brophy between March 30, 2000 to May 15,
2007.
A lawsuit entitled Wineberg v. Brophy, Case No. 06-CV-003064, was filed
in Wisconsin state court on behalf of two proposed classes of persons who
from March 30, 2000 to the present (the "Class Period"): (a) paid security
deposits or made rent payments to Defendant, Timothy J. Brophy, Jr.
("Brophy"), during the Class Period for properties owned by Brophy where
there were uncorrected housing and building code violations that Brophy
failed to disclose; or (b) did not receive from Brophy the return of
security deposits that they paid him, or a written explanation of the
reasons why any such amounts were being withheld, within twenty-one (21)
days (collectively "the Class"). On January 26, 2007, the Court entered an
order determining that this lawsuit was appropriate for class action
treatment and certifying these two classes of persons. On March 15, 2007,
the Court held a hearing and determined that damages should be awarded to
Class members. The Court has not entered a final judgment in the case and
the distribution of damages will be contingent, among other things, on the
collection of damages from Brophy. This press release is being issued
pursuant to a Court Order to provide appropriate notice to Class members.
Under the settlement, Brophy has agreed to make a cash payment in the
sum of $300,000 (the "Common Fund"), which will be used for purposes of
paying: (a) a cash payment, on a pro rata basis, to all Class members who
timely submit claim forms; and (b) attorneys' fees and costs and an
incentive award. In addition, pursuant to the settlement, Brophy is
prohibited from: (a) renting any properties that have outstanding building
code violations, and (b) failing to comply with applicable law regarding
the return of security deposits to tenants. Brophy has consented to the
Court's jurisdiction to enforce the injunction, to enter any necessary
contempt findings and to award counsel for any petitioning party reasonable
attorneys' fees and costs in connection with obtaining any relief for a
violation of the injunction. Furthermore, Brophy must provide new and
existing tenants an agreed-upon notice of the tenants' rights under the
statutes and administrative code sections under which this lawsuit was
instituted.
If you have any questions regarding whether you are a Class member, or
if would like to receive a Long-Form Notice providing additional details
regarding this lawsuit and the details of how you can participate in this
lawsuit or elect to be excluded from the lawsuit, please telephone Class
Counsel at (877) 891-9880 or send an e-mail to Douglas P. Dehler at the
following address ddehler@sfmslaw.com. You also can download a copy of the
Long-Form Notice from Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC's website at
http://www.sfmslaw.com.
Please do not write or telephone the Court, Defendant or any of their
agents for information about this lawsuit or the class certified by the
Court. Instead, if you need additional information about this case or your
potential rights, please contact Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC at
the above telephone number, or by electronic mail.
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