Johnson v Grow Financial

Dear Mr. Johnson: Attached is the proposed settlement agreement and release for your review. I have made it a mutual release since you were concerned about Grow coming back and seeking to recover fees, so that is covered in this agreement, as Grow releases you from further liability aside whatever duties may be created by this agreement. As I mentioned, this is the same basic settlement agreement I use with consumer attorneys with a few differences I will point out:

1)      As I mentioned at the hearing, Grow Financial Services, LLC is a limited liability company that provides insurance services to Grow Financial Federal Credit Union (GFFCU or Grow), but is not the credit union, which is why the release includes both entities; GFFCU is a federally chartered credit union and is a separate legal entity and would have been the proper party defendant in this case.

2)      I have also included your company in the agreement because the money withdrawn came from the business account and that corporation may be the proper party plaintiff rather than you, so both you and the corporation are parties to the settlement agreement.

3)      You will dismiss the case “with prejudice” upon receipt of the settlement funds; with prejudice means that the case against the parties can never be filed again for the same claim. This is also standard language, and the clerk can supply a form or I can provide one to you. The only difference here under “CONSIDERATION,” is that you are required to terminate your relationship with the credit union and close all accounts, and Grow has allowed you 30 days to close out your credit card and redeem the points you have accumulated. The other change to the standard provisions is the requirement that you retract or at least attempt to retract postings to various websites that you may have done in which you made disparaging remarks about Grow and provide written proof that you have done so or at least attempted to do so, since we realize in some cases retraction may not be possible. This only applies to websites, social media, chat rooms and similar platforms for consumer complaints; none of this is intended to have you retract any complaint that you made to the Better Business Bureau, Senator Nelson, or any government regulatory agency such as the National Credit Union Administration; however, there is language in the agreement which prohibits further complaints to any such agency, and that language is standard language is all of these settlement agreements.

4)      While I believe that he language in the agreement is understandable, I realize that it may seem more complex to a non-lawyer, so while I can answer basic questions about the agreement, I cannot provide you with legal advice as I am the lawyer for Grow. If there are parts of the agreement that you are the least bit unsure of, I would urge you to have an attorney of your choice review it and explain any provision that may be unclear or that cause you to have concerns. The basic agreement calls for the payment to you by Grow of $500.00 in full and complete settlement of all claims that you may have to date, whether stated in the suit or not, a dismissal of the suit with prejudice, a termination of all business relationships with you, your company and Grow,  the retraction, where possible, of negative postings, and the agreement to refrain from further comment and to keep the settlement confidential.

Please review and get back to me as soon as you are able so that we may bring this matter to a conclusion. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Neil C. Spector

Kass Shuler, P.A.

P.O. Box 800

Tampa, FL 33601

813-229-0900 X 1337

Fax: 813-769-7574