MARIA CAMILA VALENCIA RIOS et al. v. BELVEDERE NRDE, LLC et al.

The Notice and the class settlement it describes applies to you if you executed a lease at an apartment complex in Virginia managed by Pegasus Residential LLC and paid or were obligated to pay any of the Disputed Fees between June 23, 2023, and January 29, 2026. Records from Pegasus indicate you would be a class member.

The Notice informs you about the proposed settlement and your rights. Before any final judgment is entered, the Court will have a hearing to decide whether to approve the proposed settlement. The proposed settlement will be finally approved only after any objections or appeals are resolved. If the proposed settlement is finally approved, then you will benefit from the relief provided by the proposed settlement. Once the proposed settlement is final, you will also be bound by the release and other provisions of the proposed settlement.

The Notice is only a summary of the proposed settlement. More details about the proposed settlement, the date when appeals are no longer allowed and the settlement is final, deadlines for certain actions, and your options are available in a longer document called the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement by visiting the Important Court Documents page on this website. 

The class action lawsuit is known as Valencia Rios v. Belvedere NRDE, LLC, No. 3:25cv0474, and is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, with Judge Robert E. Payne presiding. The individuals who sued are called the Plaintiffs; the entities that they sued are called the Defendants. The Plaintiffs are Maria Camila Valencia Rios, Aquarius Filali, and Nadji Filali. The Defendants are Belvedere NRDE, LLC, Pegasus Residential, LLC, and Glenmoor Oaks NRDE, LLC.

If you are not a member of the Participating Landlords subclass:
You will not release any claims against your landlord as part of this settlement and may have claims to assert. Please contact Class Counsel or your own attorney if you have questions about possible additional claims.

The lawsuit alleges that Defendants violated the VCPA and VRLTA by making misrepresentations in connection with certain fees and assessing fees that they could not assess under Virginia law. Defendants deny the Plaintiffs’ allegations and deny that they are liable to the Plaintiffs or any of the putative settlement class members. The Court has not decided whether either side is right or wrong. Instead, both sides agreed to settle the case and provide benefits to the class.

The Plaintiffs filed this case as a proposed class action. When the parties reached this proposed settlement, the Court had not decided whether the case could be a class action. As part of the proposed settlement, the Court certified a tentative class action for settlement purposes only, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3). If the proposed settlement is not finally approved, then the Court will later determine if the case may or may not proceed as a class action.

The Court has decided that everyone who fits the following description is a “Pegasus Settlement Class Member”:

All consumers: (1) who executed a lease at any of the Pegasus-Managed Properties and (2) paid or were obligated to pay any Disputed Fee from June 23, 2023 through January 29, 2026.

The Court has also decided that individuals who executed a lease at the following Pegasus-Managed Properties and paid or were obligated to pay the Disputed Fees during the same time period are also part of a subclass (the “Participating Landlords Settlement Subclass”) entitled to additional payments from a contribution by their landlords to the Settlement Fund: Innslake Place, Glenmoor Oaks, The Belvedere, The Point at Beaufont, The Point at Beaufont I, The Point at Beaufont II, Hickory Creek, River Forest, Spring Water, or Copper Mill.

If you received a Notice, you have been identified as a Pegasus Settlement Class Member and may additionally be a Participating Landlords Settlement Subclass Member if your landlord is in the above list.

If you are not a member of the Participating Landlords subclass:
You are not releasing claims you have for money damages for the collection of the Disputed Fees from your landlord. You can reach out to class counsel at (703) 424-7570 for more information about your potential claims for damages or contact your own lawyer.

The proposed settlement provides a monetary payment to all Pegasus Settlement Class Members from a fund totaling $2,650,000. Members of the Participating Landlords Settlement Subclass, are also entitled to an additional payment from a contribution by their respective landlords totaling $1,212,000.

Pursuant to the Court’s approval, the Settlement Fund will also be used to pay a Service Award of up to $15,000 for each Plaintiff, attorneys’ fees awarded to Class Counsel, reimbursement of Class Counsel’s litigation expenses and costs, and Administrative Costs of the Settlement Administrator.

As part of the Settlement, Defendants have also agreed to halt collection of the Community Fee and Lease Administration Fee moving forward.

Any Residual Funds that are not feasible and practical to distribute to individual Settlement Class Members will be provided to National Association of Consumer Advocates.

No class members will have to pay or buy anything to benefit from the relief provided by the Settlement Agreement.

If you are not a member of the Participating Landlords subclass:
You are not releasing any claim you may have against the landlord at the property managed by Pegasus at which you reside/resided. If you would like to understand your rights and potential claims against any landlords, you can contact Class Counsel at 804-415-8848.

In general terms, if the proposed settlement is finally approved by the Court, then you will be giving up the right to file a lawsuit against Pegasus and the landlord at the relevant apartment complex for claims under the VCPA or VRLTA related to any of the Disputed Fees that arose between June 23, 2023, and January 29, 2026. The precise terms of the dismissal and release are explained in the Settlement Agreement, which you can view on the Important Court Documents page of this website. 

The Court’s order will apply to you even if you object to the settlement or have any other claim, lawsuit, or proceeding pending against any of the Defendants for violations of the VCPA or VRLTA.

If you are not in the Participating Landlords Subclass:
You will not give up your right to bring a claim against the landlord at the property managed by Pegasus at which you reside or resided during the relevant period. You can contact Class Counsel or your own lawyer to understand your rights as to any claims you may have against your current or former landlord. There is a two-year statute of limitations that may affect your ability to assert claims if you do not act. The precise terms of the dismissal and release are explained in the Settlement Agreement, which you can view on this website. If you have any questions about the release, please utilize this website for additional information or consult with a lawyer. See FAQ 7 for more information regarding your options in seeking legal advice concerning the settlement.

Yes. You have the opportunity to opt out of the Settlement by submitting a written Request for Exclusion to Rios v Belvedere, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 23648, Jacksonville, FL 32241, postmarked no later than sixty (60) days from May 14, 2026.

To be valid, a Request for Exclusion must be personally signed and must include:
(i) your name, address and telephone number;
(ii) and a statement substantially to the effect that: “I do not want to be part of the Settlement Class in Valencia Rios v. Belvedere.” Notwithstanding the foregoing, no person within the Settlement Class may submit a Request for Exclusion for any other person in the Settlement Class.

If you timely submit a valid Request for Exclusion, you will exclude yourself from the Settlement Class and will not be bound by further orders or judgments in the Litigation, subject to Court approval. You will preserve your ability to independently pursue, at your own expense, any individual, non-class, non-representative claims that you claim to have against the Defendants or other Released Parties. No person who has opted out of the settlement may object to any part of the Settlement Agreement.

Yes. The Court approved the following individuals to represent you and other Settlement Class Members: 

The Court has appointed these lawyers as Class Counsel. You will not be charged for these lawyers. You may hire your own attorney, if you choose, but you will be personally responsible for your attorney’s fees and expenses.

If you are not a member of the Participating Landlords subclass:
You can reach out to Class Counsel to understand your rights if you have questions about potential claims that you may have against your current or former landlords.

The attorneys representing the class have handled this case on a contingency basis. To date, they have not been paid anything for their work. Class Counsel will request that the Court award attorneys’ fees and expenses for the time and effort they have spent on this case. The amount that will be requested by Class Counsel will be one-third of the total Settlement Fund (which is $3,862,000) and a service award for each of the Named Plaintiffs of up to $15,000.

Any approved attorneys’ fees and expenses or the Plaintiffs’ service awards will be paid from the Settlement Fund, and no Settlement Class Member will owe or pay anything directly for the attorneys’ fees and expenses of Class Counsel.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, then you can object to the proposed settlement if you do not like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views.

To object to this Settlement Agreement, you must file your objection in writing with the Clerk of Court no later than sixty (60) days from May 14, 2026. You must also serve a copy of your objection to counsel for both Plaintiffs and Defendants. The objection must include certain information outlined in the Court’s Preliminary Approval Order and the Settlement Agreement. If you fail to timely file and serve a written objection, you shall not be permitted to object to the approval of the settlement or Settlement Agreement and shall be foreclosed from seeking any review of the settlement or the terms of the Settlement Agreement by appeal or other means.

You will not be permitted to object to the settlement or the Settlement Agreement if you decide to exclude yourself from the settlement.

The Court will hold a final approval hearing on August 24, 2026, before the Hon. Robert E. Payne, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.

At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will consider all timely and proper objections. You do not have to attend the hearing. The Court may also decide how much to award Class Counsel and the Plaintiffs. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to finally approve the proposed settlement.

The Court may change the date of the final approval hearing without further notice to the Class. You should check this website, after August 24, 2026, to confirm the hearing date, the court-approval process, and the Effective Date.

Please notify the Settlement Administrator of any changes in your mailing address so that future correspondence will be sent to the correct address.

To update your mailing address, you can enter your Notice ID and PIN on this website on the Update Address page.

Another option is to contact the Settlement Administrator via email at [email protected]. Please put ‘Change of Address’ in the subject line and provide your full name, previous address, current address, and the Notice ID from your notice in the body of the email.

Alternatively, you can mail that information to: Rios v Belvedere, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 23648, Jacksonville, FL 32241.

A copy of your marriage license, divorce decree or court order is required for a name change.

You can submit the documentation via email at [email protected]. In your email, put ‘Name Change’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, provide the NoticeID, original name, and address of the Class Member on the Notice you received. Also provide the new name, address and phone number that you would like on future correspondence.

Alternatively, you can submit the required documents by mail to: Rios v Belvedere, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 23648, Jacksonville, FL 32241.

Two documents are required for a name change for a deceased Class Member. They are: 1) A Copy of the death certificate, and 2) Documentation providing evidence to show the new payee as legal beneficiary – this could be a will, estate documentation, etc. The documentation will be reviewed when received. We may reach out to you with additional questions, if necessary.

You can submit these documents via email at [email protected], put ‘Name Change’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, provide the Notice ID, original name and address of the Class Member on the Notice you received. Also provide the new name, address and phone number that you would like on future correspondence.

Alternatively, you can submit the required documents by mail to: Rios v Belvedere, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 23648, Jacksonville, FL 32241.

More details about the proposed settlement, the date when appeals are no longer allowed and the settlement is final, deadlines for certain actions, and your options are available in a longer document called the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement on the Important Court Documents page on this website. 

You can also contact the Settlement Administrator via email at [email protected] or via mail at: Rios v Belvedere, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 23648, Jacksonville, FL 32241.