Blackburn, United States District Judge.
The matter before me is defendant
As directed by the Final Order (see Final Order ¶ 2 at 3), final judgment with prejudice was entered against the named plaintiffs and all members of the Settlement Class on October 20, 2015. The Final Order contemplates "[t]hat promptly after the Effective Date,[
A settlement agreement is a contract, and thus questions of its construction and scope are governed by principles of contract law. United States v. McCall, 235 F.3d 1211, 1215 (10th Cir.2000); Anthony v. United States, 987 F.2d 670, 673 (10th Cir.1993). In connection with such a contract, parties to a class action may release, on behalf of the class, both "claims not presented and even those which could not have been presented as long as the released conduct arises out of the identical factual predicate as the settled conduct." Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Visa U.S.A., Inc., 396 F.3d 96, 107 (2nd Cir.2005) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
There can be no serious question but that Ms. Griffin is a member of the Settlement Class subject to the Final Order. The gravamen of much of Ms. Griffin's lawsuit is her allegation that HSBC, through American Security Insurance Company, wrongfully force-placed flood insurance on her property in 2008 and 2009, and perhaps thereafter as well. (Def. Motion App., Exh. A-1 ¶¶ 48-49 at 17.) That allegation places Ms. Griffin squarely within the ambit of the Settlement Class, which was defined to include "all borrowers in the United States who, between January 1, 2007, and April 20, 2015 (the `Class Period'), were charged by the HSBC defendants and/or their respective subsidiaries and affiliates as insureds or additional insureds for a lender-placed flood insurance policy." (Final Order ¶ 7 at 4.)
Ms. Griffin's reliance for the contrary position on the Fifth Circuit's unpublished, per curiam decision in In re Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation, 627 Fed.Appx. 319 (5th Cir.2015), is thoroughly unpersuasive. That case is plainly distinguishable on its facts.
Ms. Griffin's next argument — that the Released Claims are not implicated by her lawsuit — is no more convincing. Her attempt to distinguish the factual allegations of her complaint from those of the underlying complaint in this case misses the mark entirely, since the preclusive effect vel non of the Settlement Agreement is governed by reference to the terms of the agreement itself, not by the claims asserted in the complaint. See Norfolk Southern Corp. v. Chevron, U.S.A., Inc., 371 F.3d 1285, 1289 (11th Cir.2004) (noting this important distinction between res judicata effect of previously litigated case and res judicata effect of settlement agreement).
As to that relevant inquiry, the scope of the "Released Claims" set forth in the Settlement Agreement is exceptionally broad, and provides, in relevant part:
(Final Order ¶ 14(b) at 8-9.) Such claims include, inter alia, "all claims related to any Released Party's placement of and charges for or related to LPFI Policies during the Class Period."
Finally, Ms. Griffin claims she did not receive adequate notice of the proposed settlement in this case because notice was mailed to the address of her insured property, which had been damaged in a 2013 fire. She maintains that since defendants processed her claim for the fire loss, they should have known she was not living at that address and should have made further efforts to ensure that she received actual notice.
Setting aside the fact that this argument is supported by no actual evidence (in the form of an affidavit, declaration, or otherwise) to substantiate Ms. Griffin's claim of non-receipt, it is legally unsound. Notice meets the requirements of due process where it is "`reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections.'" DeJulius v. New England Health Care Employees Pension Fund, 429 F.3d 935, 944 (10th Cir.2005) (quoting Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314, 70 S.Ct. 652, 657, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950)). What is required is that the class as a whole receive "the best notice practicable under the circumstances." In re Integra Realty Resources, Inc., 262 F.3d 1089, 1110-11 (10th Cir.2001); aff'd, 354 F.3d 1246 (10th Cir.2004).
Accordingly, I find and conclude that Ms. Griffin is a member of the Settlement Class who, despite constitutionally adequate notice of the proposed settlement, failed to opt out in the time allowed. She therefore is bound by the Final Order and the judgment entered in this matter. Thus, to the extent her claims in the Mississippi lawsuit come within the ambit of the Released Claims, she must be enjoined from further prosecuting those claims.
Although defendants also request attorney fees and costs incurred in filing this motion, they have provided no legal authority, nor any factual substantiation, to support such an award. The motion thus is denied insofar as it seeks such relief.
1. That defendant
2. That the motion is granted to the extent it seeks to enjoin Lakisha Rochelle Griffin from prosecuting further any of the Released Claims in the case styled Griffin v. HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 4:14-cv-00132 (N.D.Miss.), and Ms. Griffin is so enjoined; and
3. That the motion is denied insofar as it seeks attorney fees and costs incurred in connection with the filing thereof.
Hillman v. Webley, 115 F.3d 1461, 1468 (10th Cir.1997) (quoting United States v. New York Telephone Co., 434 U.S. 159, 172,174, 98 S.Ct. 364, 372, 373, 54 L.Ed.2d 376 (1977)) (internal quotation marks omitted). While not itself an independent basis of jurisdiction, the All Writs Act supports the court's "ability to facilitate [a] settlement by enjoining related suits of absent class members." White v. National Football League, 41 F.3d 402, 409 (8th Cir. 1994) abrogated on other grounds by Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997)).
Nevertheless, although defendants describe the claims they believe to be properly subject to the court's injunction in their response to Ms. Griffin's submission of supplemental authority [# 191], filed May 6, 2016), neither party has presented the court with a copy of the operative complaint in Ms. Griffin's lawsuit. The court thus is in no position to delineate specifically which of Ms. Griffin's claims or allegations come within the ambit of the settlement agreement. The court therefore will enter a general order and trust that the Mississippi court — which is more familiar with the allegations of Ms. Griffin's operative complaint — can ably determine which of Ms. Griffin's claims fall outside the scope of the Released Claims and this Order.
(Final Order ¶ 14(b) at 9-10.)
Nor does it appear to this court that Ms. Griffin could substantiate her claim that notice was mailed to an incorrect address in any event. The Settlement Administrator searched the National Change of Address System but found no change of address for Ms. Griffin had been submitted to the U.S. Postal Service within the previous four years. (Def. Motion App., Exh. 2 ¶ 5 at 2.) The Notice thus was mailed to Ms. Griffin at her last known address as shown on her policy: 1715 McClain Street, Greenville, Mississippi 38701 (see id. ¶¶ 4, 6 at 2), which is plaintiff's mother's address (see Def. Reply App., Exh. 2 at 5 (listing his address for Ms. Frankie Griffin). Ms. Griffin, meanwhile, continued to list the allegedly uninhabitable, fire-damaged property — located at 1725 McClain Street, Greenville, Mississippi 38701 — as her own primary address. (See id., Exh. 2 at 5.)