90 Washington Street Rent Overcharge Settlement: What Tenants Can Claim

The settlement covers this defined group of tenants and entities. Meeting the residence and lease criteria alone does not produce a past-rent payment; the claim requirement and opt-out rule also apply.

• You needed to sign a lease for a unit at 90 Washington Street before June 30, 2018.
• You also needed to occupy a unit in the building on or after June 14, 2015.
• To receive money for past overcharges, you must timely and properly submit a Claim Form and not opt out.

The supplied notice does not state whether the Claim Form requires documents to be included with the initial claim. It identifies required lease and address information, but the attached form itself is not included here.

• Complete the attached Claim Form.
• Mail it to the 90 Washington Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 3628, Portland, OR 97208-3628.
• It must be postmarked by November 2, 2026.
• The notice says the form requires the month and year each lease began and ended, plus the address of each leased unit.

This is a calculation method, not a promise of a particular dollar amount. The notice does not state an individual payment amount.

• The starting point is the rent charged four years before the complaint was filed, called the Legal Regulated Rent.
• For rent paid from February 25, 2016 through the Preliminary Approval Date, the calculation compares rent actually paid with that starting rent.
• The notice adds 9% simple annual interest to any difference.
• It does not allow treble damages, punitive damages, fines, or interest beyond that 9% simple interest.

Because payments can be reduced proportionally, the notice does not guarantee that a person will receive their full calculated overcharge amount.

• Defendant is to contribute $1,739,811 to the Cash Settlement Account.
• If all eligible members’ calculated past overcharges exceed the available net cash, payments are reduced on a proportional basis.
• The notice also allows Lead Counsel to seek up to 33.33% of the Settlement Amount plus expenses, and a class representative award of up to $7,500. The court decides those requests.

The notice calls these deductions “Non-Payment Deductions.” It says unresolved objections will be submitted to the court.

• Amounts owed to the landlord may be taken from a Past Overcharge Amount.
• Rent forgiven under public-health-emergency legislation will not be deducted.
• A rent payment plan made before the Order and Final Judgment Date is accelerated and treated as a deduction. If it is larger than the overcharge amount, no distribution will be made and the remaining arrears are still due under the plan.
• If the landlord claims a deduction, the claimant has 45 days after receiving notice to object and provide supporting material.

The notice also says deductions are allocated equally and proportionally among claiming cotenants, even when another cotenant does not submit a claim.

• For a lease with two or more cotenants, the Past Overcharge Amount is divided equally.
• Only cotenants who timely submit Claim Forms receive distributions.
• If one cotenant opts out, all cotenants for the lease term are treated as opting out.
• Any disagreement among cotenants about dividing a distribution must be handled outside this settlement.

Opting out means leaving the damages portion of the settlement. The notice says to read the opt-out section carefully because it has additional consequences.

• You must mail a written exclusion request by First-Class mail to Lead Counsel, postmarked by November 2, 2026.
• The request must give your name and address, say that you request exclusion from this case, be signed, and list every leased unit address.
• An opt-out cannot receive a settlement payment, but may seek past damages in a separate action or proceeding.
• A current tenant who opts out is subject to the Permitted Rent, which may later increase under applicable law.

The notice does not say that a Claim Form is needed for this settled-rent provision. It also does not identify settled-rent figures for other current residents.

• The notice provides settled rents only for 13 named unit-and-tenant entries: 5K (Stenger), 7A (Vignola), 10E (Hara), 11N (Klepner), 18D (Chirinian), 19A (Sheverda), 19L (Smith), 24H (Kanarick), 24M (Dutta), 26B (Lipiec), 26C (Viruet), PHA (Davis), and PHD (Tripp).
• For those listed current residents, the stated rent becomes effective on the first day of the month after final approval.
• The listed rents range from $1,900 for 18D (Chirinian) to $4,175 for PHD (Tripp).

The notice warns that a class member who does not object using this procedure waives the objection. It also says an objector may be subject to expedited discovery before the hearing.

• You may appear personally or through a lawyer at the hearing and object, but you must file with the court clerk and serve a notice of intent to appear on both sides’ lawyers by November 2, 2026.
• The notice must include a notarized statement that you are a class member, the unit or units and dates of residence, your detailed position and reasons, and copies of materials you want the court to consider.
• The hearing is scheduled for November 16, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., at New York State Supreme Court, New York County, Part 17, 80 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013.

In everyday terms, remaining in the settlement means giving up the covered claims against the defendant and related parties once the settlement is approved, subject to the notice’s stated terms.

• If you do not opt out, you release claims relating to residential rents at the building, the rent-regulated status of a unit, and certain claims under the Rent Stabilization Law or Code based on events before the Order and Final Judgment Date.
• This applies whether or not you submit a Claim Form.
• The notice says the full release language is in the Stipulation.