I was hoping to see an official statement on the Bartz Class Settlement website. That hasn’t occurred yet.
But, as I read the Settlement Agreement, the Effective Date of the Settlement occurred on Aug. 20, 2026, a day after the deadline for filing a notice of appeal of the settlement. The only two appeals pertain to the fee awards denied to 2 law firms, which the Settlement Agreement expressly excludes from altering the Effective Date that occurs with the passing of the deadline for an appeal of the settlement itself:
Accordingly, the Effective Date starts the 28-day clock for the payouts to the class members, approximately $3,000 per work.
I interpret “within 28 days after the Effective Date” to mean the clock actually starts running the day after the Effective Date, meaning August 21, 2026 starts the clock, which, I believe, ends 28 days later on September 17, 2026.
(If I’m wrong and the clock instead includes August 20, 2026 as one of the 28 days, then the payout would have be by Sept. 16, 2026).
Check back to this article later. I will update it once there’s official confirmation of the Effective Date and the payout process.
DOWNLOAD SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH HIGHLIGHTING OF RELEVANT PARTS:
