Birks v. Small Community Specialists

On February 14, 2023, a class action lawsuit entitled Birks, et al. v. Small Community Specialists, L.L.C., et al. was filed in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland, Case No. C-15-CV-23-000495, which was removed to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on March 27, 2023, Case No. 8:23-cv-00837-BAH. This lawsuit is referred to here as the Action.

The Plaintiffs in the Action sued Small Community Specialists, L.L.C., Associations, Inc., and HOAM Ventures, Inc. (“Defendants”), claiming that Defendants charged consumers fees to make homeowners association and condominium associations dues and assessment payments through an online application called “TownSq” (“Convenience Fees”). The Action asserts that Defendants’ practice of charging such fees, among other things, violated the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act. Defendants deny these allegations. The Court has not decided who is right.

This website summarizes the Settlement and your rights. For the precise terms and conditions of the Settlement, please see the Settlement Agreement, call the Settlement Administrator at 877-958-7748, contact Class Counsel at the addresses listed in FAQ 9, access the Court docket in this case, for a fee, through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.mdd.uscourts.gov, or visit the office of the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, 101 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays.

This Settlement may affect your rights if you paid Small Community Specialists, L.L.C., Associations, Inc., and/or HOAM Ventures, Inc. (collectively referred to as the “Defendants”) a fee to make a homeowner’s association or condominium association dues or assessment payment using the TownSq app between February 14, 2020 and July 3, 2024.

Your Legal Rights and Options in This Lawsuit

Object Deadline: October 24, 2024	The Objection deadline was October 24, 2024. Objections are no longer accepted.
Exclude Yourself from the Settlement Deadline: October 24, 2024	Instead of doing nothing, you may ask to be excluded from the lawsuit. If you do so, you will receive no benefit from the Settlement, but you will retain your right to sue on your own. The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was October 24, 2024. Exclusion requests are no longer accepted.
Do Nothing and Receive a Payment	If you are entitled under the Settlement to payment, you did not have to do anything to receive it. As the Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement on December 10, 2024, if you remain in the Settlement Class (i.e., you did nothing and did not otherwise exclude yourself from the Settlement), you will automatically receive a payment and gave up your right to bring your own lawsuit against Defendants about the claims in this case.

These rights and options –- and the deadlines to exercise them -– are explained in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page of this website.