Lewis v. GEICO

This Notice explains that the Court has allowed, or “certified,” a class action lawsuit that may affect you if you are an individual insured in New Jersey by GEICO under a GEICO private passenger vehicle policy who, from the earliest allowable time to the present, received a first party total loss settlement or settlement offer that did not include applicable sales tax, title fees, or license plate fees.

Judge Renée Marie Bumb of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage is overseeing this lawsuit. The lawsuit is known as Lewis et al. v. Government Employees Insurance Company, Case No. 1:18-cv-05111-RMB-MJS.

In a class action, one or more people (called class representatives) sue on behalf of all people who have similar legal claims. Together, all these people are called a class or class members. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those class members who timely exclude themselves (opt out) from the class.

The Class Representatives in this lawsuit are Plaintiffs Sherry Lewis and David V. Lewis.

The lawsuit alleges GEICO’s claim valuations for automobile insurance policies issued in the State of New Jersey omitted applicable sales tax, title fees, and license plate fees which constitutes a breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and is a violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (“CFA”), N.J.S.A. 56:8-2, et seq. The breach of contract claims are currently pending, while the other legal claims have been dismissed and are subject to appeal. GEICO denies the legal claims and denies any wrongdoing or liability. No court or other judicial entity has made any judgment or other determination of any wrongdoing by Defendant, or that any law has been violated.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or GEICO is right. By establishing the class and providing this Notice, the Court has not decided and is not suggesting that Plaintiffs will win or lose this lawsuit. The parties have a chance to prove or disprove their legal claims and/or defenses. The Plaintiffs must prove their legal claims at a trial.

The Plaintiffs are asking for money for the class members for GEICO’s alleged wrongdoings. The Plaintiffs are also asking for injunctive relief or equitable relief (a legal term that means Plaintiffs are asking GEICO to stop doing the alleged wrongdoings) as decided by the Court, and attorneys’ fees and costs for Class Counsel.

No money or benefits are available now. The Court has not decided whether GEICO did anything wrong, and Plaintiffs and GEICO have not settled the lawsuit. There is no guarantee money or benefits will be obtained in the future. You will be notified if money or benefits become available.

You are a class member if you are an individual insured in New Jersey by GEICO under a GEICO private passenger vehicle policy who, from the earliest allowable time to the present, received a first party total loss settlement or settlement offer that did not include applicable sales tax, title fees, or license plate fees.

If you are still not sure whether you are included in the class, you can get free help at www.NJTaxesAndFeesLitigation.com, or by calling 1-888-843-3946, or writing to the lawyers in this lawsuit, at the address listed in FAQ 12.

You do not have to do anything now if you want to keep the possibility of getting money or benefits from this lawsuit in the future. By doing nothing you are staying in the class and if the Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits in the future, you will be notified about how to get your share. If you do nothing now, you will not be able to sue or continue to sue GEICO—as part of any other lawsuit—about the same legal claims in this lawsuit. You will also be legally bound by the orders and judgments.

If you want to sue GEICO on your own regarding the same legal claims in this lawsuit, or already have your own lawsuit against GEICO regarding the same legal claims in this lawsuit and you want to continue with it, you need to ask to be excluded from the class. If you exclude or remove yourself from the class— sometimes called “opting-out” of the class— you will not get any money or benefits from this lawsuit even if Plaintiffs win at trial or there is a settlement. However, you may be able to sue or continue to sue GEICO on your own. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by the Court’s judgments in this class action lawsuit.

If you start your own lawsuit or continue with an existing lawsuit against GEICO regarding the same legal claims in this lawsuit after you exclude yourself, you will have to hire your own lawyer(s) for that lawsuit, and you will have to prove your legal claims. If you do exclude yourself so you can start or continue your own lawsuit against GEICO, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your legal claims may be subject to a statute of limitations, meaning that you may face a deadline after which you cannot sue.

To exclude yourself from the class, you must mail a written request for exclusion, which includes the following:

1. Your name, address, telephone number, and email address (if any);
2. Your personal physical signature; and
3. A statement that you want to be excluded from the class, such as “I hereby request to be excluded from the class in Lewis et al. v. GEICO.”

The exclusion request must be mailed to the Notice Administrator at the following address, and be postmarked by July 26, 2026:

Lewis et al. v. GEICO
Notice Administrator
P.O. Box 4436
Portland, OR 97208-4436

You cannot opt out (exclude yourself) by telephone or by email.

“Mass” or “class” requests for exclusion filed by third parties on behalf of a “mass” or “class” of class members or multiple class members where the opt out hasn’t been signed by each and every individual class member will not be allowed.

Yes. The Court appointed the below law firm as “Class Counsel.” They are experienced in handling similar class action lawsuits. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

James E. Cecchi
Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Angello P.C.
5 Becker Farm Rd.
Roseland, N.J. 07068-1739

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want your own lawyer, you can hire your own lawyer at your own expense. For example, you can ask them to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.

If Class Counsel gets money or benefits for the class, they may ask the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses. You will not have to personally pay these attorneys’ fees and expenses. If the Court grants Class Counsels’ request, the attorneys’ fees and expenses will either be deducted from any money obtained for the class or paid separately by GEICO.

Class Counsel will have to prove Plaintiffs’ legal claims at a trial. The trial has not been scheduled. During the trial, a Jury and the Judge will hear all of the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether Plaintiffs or GEICO are right about the legal claims in the lawsuit. There is no guarantee that the Plaintiffs will win, or that they will get any money for the class.

No. You do not need to attend the trial. Class Counsel will present the case for the Plaintiffs and the class, and lawyers for GEICO will present on their behalf. You or your own lawyer may attend at your own expense.

If the Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits as a result of the lawsuit, and you remain in the class, you will be notified about how to participate to receive money or benefits. It is unknown how long this will take.

This Notice contains a summary of the lawsuit and the proceedings. You can get additional information by visiting www.NJTaxesAndFeesLitigation.com, calling 1-888-843-3946, or writing the Notice Administrator at:

Lewis et al. v. GEICO
Notice Administrator
P.O. Box 4436
Portland, OR 97208-4436

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT REGARDING THIS NOTICE.