‘Additional Documents’ Loom in Settlement of DirecTV’s TCPA Dispute

The settlement agreement that defendant-appellant DirecTV reached with plaintiffs-appellees David Vance, Roxy Vance and Carla Shultz (see 2301300002) “calls for the drafting of additional documents, including a preliminary approval order, class notices, and a claim form,” the parties told the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a joint status report Wednesday (docket 22-1958). “Once the parties agree on the form and content of those additional documents, the settlement agreement will be ready for execution,” said the report. After the parties execute the agreement, the plaintiffs will have two weeks “to move for preliminary approval of the agreement in the district court,” it said. The parties will update the 4th Circuit every 30 days, it said. DirecTV is appealing the district court’s certification of class members in a December 2017 Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint. DirecTV also is appealing the lower court’s denial of its motion to compel plaintiff Shultz to arbitration of her TCPA claims. The 4th Circuit consolidated the two appeals in October.