LEANDRE WILEY v. TA OPERATING LLC d/b/a TravelCenters of America

This lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. LeAndre Wiley (the “Plaintiff”), sued TA Operating LLC d/b/a Travel Centers of America (“TA”) in this class action case (Wiley v. TA Operating LLC, 1:21-cv-01093-DAP) alleging that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3), because it failed to provide applicants subjected to an adverse employment action, based in whole or in part on their consumer report, notice and a copy of the report before taking such action. TA contends that its procedures did not violate the FCRA and did not willfully violate the FCRA. TA maintains that, absent a settlement, it would have vigorously defended the case on the merits and for class certification purposes, and is settling because of the expense of litigation, the length of time necessary to resolve the issues presented, and the inconvenience involved.

This “Adverse Action Class” is defined to include:

All U.S. Resident individuals on whom Defendant obtained a consumer report for employment purposes between May 26, 2019 and July 22, 2021 and Defendant’s records reflect that such report contained an item of information coded as potentially disqualifying for employment with Defendant, and were never employed by Defendant.

The Court has appointed lawyers to represent the Class, but you may enter an appearance in the case through an attorney if you want. If you do so, you will have to pay for your own lawyer.

The attorneys who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Class are:

Marc R. Edelman Morgan & Morgan, P.A.
201 N. Franklin Street, 7th Floor Tampa, FL  33602-5157
813-223-5505

Defendant has agreed to establish a Settlement Fund up to a maximum amount of $164,020.00 to settle this lawsuit. Subject to the Court’s approval, TA has agreed to compensate Class Counsel for its attorney’s fees an amount equal to one-third of the Settlement Fund ($54,673.33). Class Counsel will also ask the Court to approve a $3,000.00 payment to Plaintiff for his service to the class and as compensation for releasing all claims against TA Operating LLC.

Unless you exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will be considered a member of the Class, which means you give up your right to sue or file a lawsuit against TA Operating LLC or its related entities regarding the legal issues that were raised or could have been raised in this case. Giving up your legal claims is called a release. The released parties collectively include TA Operating LLC and its parent and related companies, direct or indirect affiliates, principals and agents. You will be releasing these parties from all claims relating to the procurement of a background check when you applied for a job.

If you wish to be excluded, you must mail a written request for exclusion to the Settlement Administrator at:

Wiley vs. TA Petro Settlement
C/O Settlement Administrator
P O Box 23678
Jacksonville, FL  32241-3678

Your request for exclusion must be in writing and postmarked on or before November 7, 2022. The request must state: “I do not want to be part of the Class in Wiley v. TA Operating LLC, 1:21-cv-01093-DAP. The request should be signed, with your name, address, and telephone number printed below your signature. The address you use should be the address to which this notice was mailed, so that you can be properly identified. However, if you have a new address, please inform us of the new address so we can make the change in the Class List.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing on November 30, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. The hearing will be held in the United States Federal Courthouse for the Northern District of Ohio, at 801 West Superior Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44113. At the Fairness Hearing, the Court will consider whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will hear objections to the settlement, if any. We do not know how long the Court will take to make its decision. In addition, the hearing may be continued at any time by the Court without further notice to you.

This notice is only a summary of the proposed Settlement of this lawsuit. Certain pleadings and documents filed in Court, including the Settlement Agreement, may be reviewed or copied in the Clerk’s Office or in the Important Court Documents section.

Any member of the Settlement Class who wishes to object to the settlement must return by U.S. mail to the Settlement Administrator a timely written statement of objection no later than sixty (60) days after the date the Settlement Administrator mails the Notice of Settlement. Any member of the Settlement Class who submits a timely request for exclusion or opt out may not file an objection to the settlement and shall be deemed to have waived any rights or benefits under this Stipulation of Settlement. The Notice of Objection must state (1) the case name and number; (2) the name, address, telephone number, and email address (if any) of the member of the Settlement Class making the objection; (3) a statement of the objection(s) being asserted; (4) a detailed description of the facts and any legal authorities underlying each objection; (5) a notice of intent to appear at the final Fairness Hearing, if the Settlement Class Member making the objection intends to appear; (6) a list of any witnesses the Settlement Class Member making the objection may call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing, whether in person, by deposition, or affidavit; and (7) a list of any exhibits, and copies of the same, which that such objector may offer at the Final Approval Hearing. Any objection must be personally signed by the objector.

No member of the Settlement Class shall be entitled to contest in any way the approval of the terms and conditions of this Stipulation of Settlement or the Court’s Final Approval Order except by filing and serving written objections in accordance with the provisions of this Stipulation of Settlement. Any member of the Settlement Class who fails to make objections in the manner specified above shall be deemed to have waived any objections and shall be foreclosed from making any objections, whether by appeal or otherwise, to the settlement.