Airborne/DHL Settlement Website

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The following are summary answers only. For a complete discussion of the terms of the settlement, please read the Settlement Agreement.

What Is This Case About?
Who Are The Claimants?
Who Are The Respondents?
Who Is In The Class?
Who Represents Me In This Case?
What Is A Class Action?
What Are The Monetary Terms Of The Settlement?
How Will This Affect Me?
Has The Settlement Been Approved?
What Do I Have To Do To Receive My Settlement Check?
How Do I Exclude Myself From The Settlement?
When Will I Receive My Settlement Check?
How Can I Learn My Estimated Individual Settlement Amount?
How Was My Share of The Settlement Calculated?
What Attorneys' Fees And Other Amounts Were Awarded By The Panel?
What Release of Claims Am I Giving?
What If I Have Questions?

1. What Is This Case About?

This case was filed on behalf of independent contractors that had Cartage Agreements for pick-up and delivery services with Airborne/DHL. The Class Period is 1994 through June 30, 2007. Claimants allege that Airborne/DHL underpaid contractors due to problems with the computer system used to pay contractors, failed to pay for special classes of shipments, understated material information and misrepresented the payment system when soliciting bids, and refused to renegotiate contract payment rates in good faith.

Airborne/DHL insists that it has done nothing wrong; that it has properly paid its contractors and dealt with them honestly; and that it has good defenses to all the claims.

The case was brought before an American Arbitration Association Commercial Arbitration Tribunal (the "Panel") and is captioned Terrapin Express, Inc., et al. vs. Airborne Express, Inc., et al., Case No. 11 199 01536 05.

2. Who Are The Claimants?

Claimants are four former independent contractors of Airborne/DHL: Terrapin Express, Inc.; Moonstruck, Inc.; Key Air Express, Inc.; and John Cooper d/b/a Cooper Cartage, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated.

3. Who Are The Respondents?

Airborne Express, Inc.; Airborne, Inc.; Airborne Freight Corporation d/b/a Airborne Express or Airborne Express, Inc.; DHL Express (USA), Inc.; DHL Worldwide Express, Inc. d/b/a DHL Express; and DHL Holdings (USA), Inc. (collectively, "Airborne/DHL") are the Respondents.

4. Who Is In The Class?

The Settlement Class is defined as follows:

All entities (including, but not limited to, individuals, proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, trusts and other business entities) that entered into Cartage Agreements for pick-up and delivery services with Airborne/DHL effective at any time during the period of January 1, 1994 through June 30, 2007 (the "Class Period"). A "Cartage Agreement" means the agreements between Airborne/DHL and contractors, which agreements contained arbitration provisions and provided for transportation, pick-up, delivery, cartage, and other services as defined in the Cartage Agreements themselves and their attached schedules and exhibits.

A Cartage Agreement does not include Agent Agreements or other agreements with any of DHL Express (USA), Inc., DHL Worldwide Express, Inc. d/b/a DHL Express, and DHL Holdings (USA), Inc. effective prior to 2004.

5. Who Represents Me In This Case?

Counsel for Representative Claimants and the Class are: Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C. and Rupp, Baase, Pfalzgraf, Cunningham & Coppola LLC.

6. What Is A Class Action?

In a Class Action, one or more people, called Class Representatives or Representative Claimants, sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All those people are Class Members. One tribunal resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.

7. What Are The Monetary Terms Of The Settlement?

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Stipulation of Settlement (the "Settlement Agreement"), dated October 16, 2007 (which is available on the appropriate link on this website), Respondents have paid $24,750,000 into an interest bearing escrow account (the "Settlement Fund").

The settlement is a compromise of disputed claims. It is not an admission of liability by anyone and does not mean that the Panel has found liability for the claims made by Claimants.

8. How Will This Affect Me?

As a Class Member, you are entitled to a share of the Settlement Fund, and you will be bound by all orders and judgments of the Panel.

Any claims you have against Respondents that were or could have been brought in this class action will be released and discharged by the final resolution of the case.

You do not have to pay Class Counsel. Class Counsel has been awarded reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to be paid from the Settlement Fund.

9. Has The Settlement Been Approved?

A fairness hearing was held on May 15, 2008 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the offices of the American Arbitration Association, 1776 I Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006. No one objected to the settlement, and the arbitration panel approved the settlement. Following the fairness hearing, the arbitrators signed a Final Award Approving Settlement And Dismissing Class Action Arbitration Claims With Prejudice, and a Distribution Order. You may view or download these documents at the links on the right side of the Main Page.

10. What Do I Have To Do To Receive My Settlement Check?

If you are a Class Member, in most cases you do not have to do anything at this time to receive a check in the Settlement. The Parties have collected sufficient information to calculate each Class Member's Settlement Amount. Your Settlement Amount will be calculated and a check mailed to you at the address we have for you.

However, if you did not receive a Notice or other correspondence from the Class Administrator in the mail, if you have moved, or if for any other reason you believe we do not have a correct mailing address for you, please contact the Class Administrator to verify your membership in the Settlement Class and provide your mailing address. You may contact the Class Administrator at:

Class Administrator
c/o Complete Claim Solutions, LLC
P.O. Box 24786
West Palm Beach, FL 33416
Toll-free: 1-877-526-1011

or you may email the Class Administrator at info@airbornedhlsettlement.com.

11. How Do I Exclude Myself From The Settlement?

The deadline for excluding yourself from the Settlement Class has expired. All exclusion requests were required to have been sent to the Class Administrator, c/o Complete Claim Solutions, LLC, P.O. Box 24786, West Palm Beach, FL 33416, postmarked on or before March 10, 2008.

12. When Will I Receive My Settlement Check?

Although the settlement has been approved, the Final Award Approving Settlement And Dismissing Class Action Arbitration Claims With Prejudice and the Distribution Order require the completion of certain administrative steps before any distributions can be made from the Settlement Fund. We currently estimate that checks will be mailed to Class Members in the Fall of 2008. Please check www.airbornedhlsettlement.com periodically for updates. Until these distributions are made, the Settlement Fund will remain on deposit in an escrow account earning interest.

13. How Can I Learn My Estimated Individual Settlement Amount?

The Class Administrator has calculated estimated individual settlement amounts for all Class Members based on the Panel's Final Award Approving Settlement And Dismissing Class Action Arbitration Claims With Prejudice. If you are a Class Member, you may click the "Settlement Amounts" link on the right side of the Main Page for information about how to contact the Class Administrator for information about your estimated individual settlement amount, a summary of the data used in calculating the amount, and other information that will help you place your estimated individual settlement amount in context.

14. How Was My Share of The Settlement Calculated?

According to the Panel's Distribution Order, the Settlement Fund, net of attorneys fees, costs, and other amounts awarded by the Panel is to be distributed in accordance with the Allocation and Distribution Plan. The Allocation and Distribution Plan is attached as Exhibit D to the Final Award Approving Settlement and Dismissing Class Action Arbitration Claims With Prejudice, which can be viewed or downloaded at the links on the right side of the Main Page. For an explanation of the method used to calculate Class Members' individual settlement amounts, click the "Sample Calculations" link on the right side of the Main Page.

15. What Attorneys' Fees And Other Amounts Were Awarded By The Panel?

All costs, fees, and expenses related to this lawsuit are to be paid out of the proceeds of the Settlement Fund. In its Final Award Approving Settlement And Dismissing Class Action Arbitration Claims With Prejudice, the Panel awarded Class Counsel attorneys' fees equal to 30% of the Settlement Fund, and approximately $155,000 in reimbursement of litigation expenses that Class Counsel advanced on behalf of the Settlement Class. The Panel also awarded incentive awards of $25,000 for each of the four Representative Claimants for their work and role in bringing about this recovery. In addition, a portion of the Settlement proceeds has been and will be applied to pay the reasonable costs of class notice and settlement administration.

16. What Release of Claims Am I Giving?

You are agreeing to a release of claims as outlined on page 5 of the Notice and paragraph 3.1 of the Settlement Agreement.

17. What If I Have Questions?

You may read the documents available at the links located on the right side of the Main Page, call 1-877-526-1011, write to the Class Administrator, c/o Complete Claim Solutions, LLC, P.O. Box 24786, West Palm Beach, FL 33416, visit the website of the American Arbitration Association, www.adr.org, or the website of the American Arbitration Association for this arbitration, http://www.adr.org/sp.asp?id=29386.