class action settlement

I am not sure of your state laws regarding this, but in most states where a car has been repoed, the buyer who defaulted is responsible for any outstanding debt on the vehicle. You should contact a local lawyer,and just ask the same question over the phone. You should be able to get free information at your Attorney General's website also.

I think most class action suits end up getting almost nothing for those that the class action was filed for in the first place unless there was major damage done to the victims. For example, one of my friends recieved notice that they could be part of a class action for something they bought from TV but the item was defective. I think the company settled out of court and my friend got a check for $5. The settlement came in about 5 years after he made the purchase. In some cases this is not true though for example, the people that got really sick from the chemical pollution by PG&E that was settled for something like 300 million which gave the top victims 1 mil each or something like that. Basically what I am getting at is if the suit you are part of is going to yield enough to come close to cover the 12,000 anyway.

To address the main question you had about can they take the settlement. In my opinion the company could only take your settlement if it were approved by a judge. They can not just come in and confiscate your assets with out court approval. I really doubt they would even know you got a settlement in the first place but if you deposit a large check into a bank account they might see a change on your credit report after a month of it setting there and then file a claim against the bank account.

This is truly a rare situation. This would be better addressed to an attorney in your local area who would be familiar with local ordinances and laws. Let us know what happens if you would.