Frequently Asked Questions

A Court authorized this website because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of a class action lawsuit known as Marden’s Ark Corp. v. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, No. 5:23-cv-00708-M-KS, and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. This website explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

Judge Richard E. Myers, II of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina is overseeing this case. The person who sued, Marden’s Ark Corp., is called the “Plaintiff.” UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is called the “Defendant.” 
 

The Litigation alleges that Optum Community Health Workers made artificial or prerecorded voice calls to wireless telephone numbers as part of its Optum at Home program without consent in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”); and seeks statutory damages under the TCPA on behalf of the named Plaintiff and a class of all individuals in the United States.

Defendant denies each and every allegation of wrongdoing, liability and damages that were or could have been asserted in the litigation, and that the claims in the litigation would be appropriate for class treatment if the litigation were to proceed through trial.

The Plaintiff’s Complaint, Settlement Agreement and other case-related documents are posted here. The Settlement resolves the lawsuit. The Court has not decided who is right. 
 

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (commonly referred to as the “TCPA”) is a federal law that restricts telephone solicitations and the use of automated telephone equipment. The Plaintiff here alleged that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated made artificial or prerecorded voice calls to wireless telephone numbers as part of its Optum at Home Community Health Workers program without consent in violation of the TCPA.

In a class action, one person called the “Representative Plaintiff” (in this case, Plaintiff Marden’s Ark Corp.) sues on behalf of itself and other entities and people with similar claims. 

All of the entities and people who have claims similar to the Representative Plaintiff’s claims are Settlement Class Members, except for those which exclude themselves.
 

The Court has not found in favor of either Representative Plaintiff or Defendant. Instead, both sides have agreed to a Settlement. By agreeing to the Settlement, the parties avoid the costs and uncertainty of a trial, and if the Settlement is approved by the Court, Settlement Class Members who submit Approved Claims will receive the Settlement’s benefits described in this notice. Defendant denies all legal claims in this case. Representative Plaintiff and its lawyers think the proposed Settlement is best for everyone who is affected.

The Settlement includes: all regular users or subscribers to numbers assigned to wireless carriers which Optum Community Health Workers called as part of the Optum at Home program during the Settlement Class Period using an artificial or pre-recorded voice who were not members or subscribers of United Healthcare or that opted out of receiving calls from United Healthcare from December 11, 2019 to March 27, 2025. These people are called the “Settlement Class” or “Settlement Class Members.”

Excluded from the Settlement Class are (1) the Judges presiding over this action and members of their families; (2) the Defendant, Defendant’s respective subsidiaries, parent companies, successors, predecessors, and any entity in which Defendant or its parents have a controlling interest and its current or former officers and directors; (3) persons who properly execute and file a timely request for exclusion from the Settlement Class; and (4) the legal representatives, successors or assigns of any such excluded person(s).
 

If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Class, or have any other questions about the Settlement, (1) visit here, (2) contact the Settlement Administrator at Marden's Ark v. UnitedHealth Group Inc., c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 5324 New York, NY 10150-5324, or toll-free at (833) 421-6595; or (3) contact Class Counsel at [email protected] or 305-469-5881.

Defendant has agreed to pay $1,846,500 to create a cash Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund will be used to pay all Settlement Administration Expenses, a Fee Award, and a Service Award. The remaining funds will be distributed on a pro rata basis to Settlement Class Members who timely submit an Approved Claim. 

Payments to Settlement Class Members will be made only after the Court grants final approval to the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved (see “Final Approval Hearing” for more information). If there are appeals, resolving them can take time. Please be patient.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must send a timely letter by mail to the Settlement Administrator at:

Marden's Ark v. UnitedHealth Group Inc.
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC
P.O. Box 5324
New York, NY 10150-5324

Your request to be excluded from the Settlement must be personally signed by you, include your name, address, and the telephone number at which you received calls covered by the Settlement, and contain a statement that indicates your desire to be “excluded from the Settlement Class.” Absent excluding yourself or “opting-out” you are otherwise a member of the Settlement Class.

Your request for exclusion must be postmarked no later than June 24, 2025. You cannot ask to be excluded on the phone, by email, or at the website.

You may opt-out of the Settlement Class only for yourself.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue Defendant for the claims that the Settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from this Settlement Class in order to pursue your own lawsuit.

Unless you opt-out of the Settlement, you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendant about the issues in this case, including any existing litigation, arbitration, or proceeding. Unless you exclude yourself, all of the decisions and judgments by the Court will bind you. 

The Settlement Agreement is available here. The Settlement Agreement provides more detail regarding the release and describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions in necessary, accurate legal terminology, so read it carefully. You can talk to the law firms representing the Class listed in Question 14 for free or you can, at your own expense, talk to your own lawyer if you have any questions about the Released Claims or what they mean.
 

No. You will not get a payment from the Settlement Fund if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

The Court has appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” to represent all members of the Settlement Class.

                                     Avi R. Kaufman                                                  Stefan Coleman 

                                     KAUFMAN P.A.                                                  COLEMAN PLLC

You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by another lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense.
 

Class Counsel intend to request up to one-third of the value of the Settlement Fund for attorneys’ fees, plus reimbursement of reasonable, actual out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred in the litigation. The fees and expenses awarded by the Court will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. The Court will decide the amount of fees and expenses to award.

Class Counsel also will request that a Service Award not to exceed $5,000 be paid from the Settlement Fund to the Representative Plaintiff for its service as representative on behalf of the whole Settlement Class.

If you are a Settlement Class Member (and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class), you can object to any part of the Settlement. To object, you must timely submit a letter containing a caption or title that identifies it as “Objection to Class Settlement in Marden’s Ark Corp. v. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, No. 5:23-cv-00708-M-KS,” and also containing the following information: (i) your name, address, and telephone number; (ii) the phone number(s) at which you received calls covered by this Settlement; and (iii) the factual basis and legal grounds for the objection.

If you wish to object, you must file your objection with the Court electronically or in person at the Alton Lennon Federal Building and Courthouse, 2 Princess Street, Wilmington, NC 28401 or mail it to the Clerk of Court, PO Box 25670, Raleigh, NC 27611 by no later than June 24, 2025. Settlement Class Members may object either on their own or through an attorney hired at their own expense.
 

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing on August 4, 2025 at 2pm ET, at the Alton Lennon Federal Courthouse, 2 Princess Street, Wilmington, North Carolina.  The hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check this website for updates. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will also consider the requests by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses. If there are objections, the Court will consider them at that time. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. It is unknown how long these decisions will take.
 

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But, you are welcome to attend the hearing at your own expense. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you submitted your written objection on time, to the proper addresses, and it complies with all the other requirements set forth above, the Court will consider it. You also may pay your own lawyer to attend the hearing, but it is not necessary.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must submit a timely objection and include a statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing.
You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

This website summarizes the proposed Settlement. You are urged to review more details in the Settlement Agreement. For a complete, definitive statement of the Settlement terms, refer to the Settlement Agreement here. If you have any questions, you also may contact the Settlement Administrator at Marden's Ark v. UnitedHealth Group Inc., c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 5324 New York, NY 10150-5324, the Contact page here, or toll-free at (833) 421-6595, or contact Class Counsel at [email protected] or 305-469-5881.