Knox et al v. Impact MHC Management, LLC et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
MARCIE KNOX, CHERYL SKAJ,
JANET EICH, and BRADLEY
BANDAS, individually and on behalf of
all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
IMPACT MHC MANAGEMENT, LLC;
SARTELL MHP, LLC; SARTELL MHP
2, LLC; GEMSTONE COMMUNITIES,
LLC; and SARTELL MHC, LLC,
Defendants.
Case No. 24-cv-4235 (LMP/LIB)
PRELIMINARY APPROVAL ORDER
On September 30, 2025, Plaintiffs filed an unopposed Motion for Preliminary
Approval of a settlement between Plaintiffs Marcie Knox, Cheryl Skaj, Janet Eich, and
Brandley Bandas, for themselves and on behalf of a Settlement Class, and Defendants
Gemstone 	Communities, 	LLC, 	and 	Sartell 	MHC, 	LLC 	(collectively, 	“Gemstone
Defendants”). 	ECF No. 69. 	The motion is accompanied by a copy of the executed
Settlement Agreement between Plaintiffs and the Gemstone Defendants, ECF No. 75-1,
and information relevant to the credentials of proposed class counsel, ECF No. 72.
Defendants Impact MHC Management, LLC; Sartell MHP, LLC; and Sartell MHP 2, LLC
(collectively, “Impact Defendants”), filed a response to the motion, requesting that certain
conditions be included in a preliminary approval order and that certain factual details be
clarified in Plaintiffs’ proposed notice to the putative class. ECF No. 77. The Court held
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a hearing on the motion on November 19, 2025. ECF No. 81. Based on the Court’s oral
decisions at the motion hearing, Plaintiffs submitted a revised notice to the class on
December 2, 2025. ECF No. 85.
Having fully considered the issues presented by Plaintiffs’ motion, the Court hereby
GRANTS the motion, enters a Preliminary Approval Order, and ORDERS as follows:
1. 	Class 	Certification 	for 	Settlement 	Purposes 	Only. 	The 	following
Settlement Class is provisionally certified for purposes of settlement only:
All individuals who have resided at Sartell Mobile Home Park at any time
between June 14, 2024, and the date of final settlement approval.
For purposes of settlement with the Gemstone Defendants only, the Court finds that
it will likely be able to certify the Settlement Class for purposes of judgment on the
settlement because it meets all of the requirements of Rule 23(a). Specifically, the Court
finds for settlement purposes only that (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all
members is impracticable; (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) the
claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the
class; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of
the class. The Court further finds for purposes of settlement with the Gemstone Defendants
only that the requirement of Rule 23(b) is satisfied because the Gemstone Defendants have
acted or refused to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive
relief or corresponding declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole.
2. 	Settlement Class Representatives and Settlement Class Counsel. 	The
Court 	finds 	for 	settlement 	purposes 	only 	that 	Plaintiffs 	will 	satisfy 	all 	adequacy
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requirements 	under 	Rule 	23 	and 	should 	be 	appointed 	as 	the 	Settlement 	Class
Representatives. Moreover, the Court finds that (1) Anne M. Lockner, Geoffrey H. Kozen,
Rashanda C. Bruce, and Allison R. Zakon of Robins Kaplan LLP; and (2) Mary Kaczorek,
Chace Huntzinger, and Mateen Zubair Shah of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid will likely satisfy
the adequacy requirements for counsel under Rule 23 and should be appointed as
Settlement Class Counsel for settlement purposes only.
3. 	Preliminary Settlement Approval. 	Upon preliminary review, the Court
finds the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate to warrant providing notice of the
Settlement to the Settlement Class and, accordingly, is preliminarily approved. In making
this determination, the Court has considered the relative merits of the parties’ positions; the
costs, risks, and delay associated with continued litigation; the good-faith, arm’s-length
negotiations between experienced counsel; the effectiveness of providing relief to the class;
the equitable treatment of the Settlement Class members under the Settlement Agreement;
and all other factors required by statute, rule, and case law.
4. 	Jurisdiction. The Court has subject-matter jurisdiction over this matter and
personal jurisdiction over the parties before it. Additionally, venue is proper in this District
because a substantial part of the events, acts, and omissions giving rise to Plaintiffs’ claims
occurred in this District.
5. 	Final Approval Hearing. 	A Final Approval Hearing shall be held on
April 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. CDT in Courtroom 3A, Warren E. Burger Federal Building
and U.S. Courthouse, 316 Robert Street N., St. Paul, MN 55101, where the Court will
determine, among other things, whether: (1) the Settlement Class should be finally
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certified; (2) the Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate, and be
finally approved; (3) this action should be dismissed with prejudice against the Gemstone
Defendants pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement; (4) the Settlement Class
members should be bound by the releases set forth in the Settlement Agreement; (5) the
application of Settlement Class Counsel for an award of Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and
Expenses 	should 	be 	approved; 	and 	(6) 	the 	application 	of 	the 	Settlement 	Class
Representatives for a Service Award should be approved.
Class Counsel must file its Motion for Final Approval of the Settlement no later than
April 9, 2026. 	Gemstone Defendants may respond to the Motion for Final Approval no
later than April 23, 2026.
6. 	Notice. The proposed notice program set forth in the Settlement Agreement
and the Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement, provided to the Court at ECF No. 85-1
(the “Notice”), is hereby approved. 	For the avoidance of doubt, the notice program will
consist of: (1) sending the Notice to Settlement Class members’ last known addresses by
first-class mail; (2) posting the Notice in the office of SMH Park; and (3) posting the Notice
on the website of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. 	Non-material modifications to this notice
program may be made by Settlement Class Counsel in consultation and agreement with the
parties, but without further order of the Court.
7. 	Findings Concerning Notice. 	The Court finds that the proposed form,
content, and method of giving notice to the Settlement Class as described in the Settlement
Agreement and the Notice: (1) will constitute the best practicable notice to the Settlement
Class; (2) are reasonably calculated, under the circumstances, to apprise Settlement Class
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members of the pendency of this action, the terms of the proposed Settlement Agreement,
and their rights under the proposed Settlement Agreement, including, but not limited to,
their right to object to the proposed Settlement Agreement and other rights under the terms
of the Settlement Agreement; (3) are reasonable and constitute due, adequate, and sufficient
notice to all Settlement Class members and other persons entitled to receive notice;
(4) meet all applicable requirements of law, including Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23
and 28 U.S.C. § 1715; and (5) meet the requirements of the Due Process Clauses of the
United States and Minnesota Constitutions. 	The Court further finds that the Notice is
written in plain language, uses simple terminology, and is designed to be readily
understandable by Settlement Class members.1
Settlement 	Class 	Counsel 	are 	directed 	to 	carry 	out 	the 	notice 	program 	in
conformance with the Settlement Agreement.
8. 	Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, Expenses, and Service Award. 	Settlement Class
Counsel shall file papers in support of their Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, Expenses,
and Service Award with the Court no later than February 17, 2026. 	The Gemstone
Defendants may file a response to the Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, Expenses, and
Service Award no later than March 7, 2026. No reply brief is permitted.
9. 	Objections. A Settlement Class member desiring to object to the fairness,
reasonableness, or adequacy of the Settlement Agreement, or to the Motion for Attorneys’
1 	Impact Defendants raised several objections to the language of the proposed notice.
The Court overruled those objections for the reasons stated on the record during the hearing
on the Motion for Preliminary Approval.
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Fees, Costs, Expenses, and Service Award, may submit a timely written objection by the
objection deadline of March 7, 2026, and as stated in the Notice. The Notice shall instruct
Settlement Class members who wish to object to the Settlement Agreement to file their
objections with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (110 Sixth Ave. S. Suite 200, St. Cloud, MN
56301), which must file a copy of all timely objections with the Court no later than April 9,
2026. 	The Notice shall advise Settlement Class members of the objection deadline of
March 7, 2026. Any such objections to the Settlement Agreement must be written and must
include all of the following information: (1) the Settlement Class member’s full name,
current address, and telephone number; (2) a statement affirming that the Settlement Class
member resided at Sartell Mobile Home Park at some point between June 14, 2024, and
April 30, 2026; (3) a clear explanation of the grounds for the objection, as well as any
documents supporting the objection; and (4) whether the objection applies only to the
Settlement Class member, to a specific group of Settlement Class members, or to the entire
Settlement Class. Any party may file a response to a Settlement Class member’s objection
no later than April 23, 2026.
Any Settlement Class member who fails to comply with the requirements for
objecting shall waive and forfeit any and all rights they may have to appear separately
and/or to object to the Settlement Agreement; shall be bound by all the terms of the
Settlement Agreement and by all proceedings, orders, and judgments in this action; and
shall be precluded from seeking any review of the Settlement Agreement and/or Final
Approval Order and Judgment by appeal or other means. 	The provisions stated in the
Settlement Agreement shall be the exclusive means for any challenge to the Settlement
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Agreement. 	Any challenge to the Settlement Agreement, the final order approving the
Settlement Agreement, or the Final Order and Judgment to be entered upon final approval
shall be pursuant to appeal under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and not through
a collateral attack.
10. 	Termination of Settlement. This Preliminary Approval Order shall become
null and void and shall be without prejudice to the rights of the parties, all of whom shall
be restored to their respective positions existing before the Court entered this Preliminary
Approval Order and before they entered the Settlement Agreement if the Settlement is not
finally approved by the Court or is terminated in accordance with the Settlement
Agreement. In such event, (1) the Parties shall be restored to their respective positions in
this action prior to execution of the Settlement Agreement and shall jointly request that all
scheduled litigation deadlines be reasonably extended by the Court so as to avoid prejudice
to any party or party’s counsel; (2) the terms and provisions of the Settlement Agreement
shall have no further force and effect with respect to the parties and shall not be used in
this action or in any other proceeding for any purpose, and (3) any judgment or order
entered by the Court in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement shall be
treated as vacated, nunc pro tunc.
11. 	Use of Preliminary Approval Order. 	This Preliminary Approval Order
shall be of no force or effect if a Final Order and Judgment is not entered and shall not be
construed or used as an admission, concession, or declaration by or against any Defendant
of any fault, wrongdoing, breach, liability, or propriety of certifying any class. Nor shall
this Preliminary Approval Order be construed or used as an admission, concession, or
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declaration by or against the Settlement Class Representatives or any other Settlement
Class member that their claims lack merit or that the relief requested is inappropriate,
improper, unavailable; or as a waiver by any party of any defense or claims they may have
in this action or in any other lawsuit.
Furthermore, the findings, recitals, and conclusions contained in this Preliminary
Approval 	Order 	have 	no 	preclusive, 	law-of-the-case, 	or 	evidentiary 	effect 	in 	any
subsequent proceedings against the Impact Defendants. This Preliminary Approval Order
does not affect Impact Defendants’ legal claims or defenses, nor does it foreclose Impact
Defendants from opposing class certification or otherwise supply any negative inference
in litigation of the merits of the claims against Impact Defendants. 	Plaintiffs retain the
burden to 	prove all 	requirements for any 	proposed 	litigation 	class against Impact
Defendants. 	This Preliminary Approval Order may be amended or altered before final
judgment. 	See Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(1)(C). 	The Court reserves all issues relating to any
litigation class involving the non-settling Impact Defendants.
12. 	Continuance or Adjournment of Hearing. The Court reserves the right to
adjourn or continue the Final Approval Hearing and related deadlines without further
written notice to the Settlement Class. The Court retains jurisdiction to consider all further
applications arising out of or connected with the proposed Settlement Agreement. 	The
Court may approve the Settlement, with such modifications as may be agreed upon by the
parties, if appropriate, without further notice to the Settlement Class.
13. 	Stay of Litigation. All proceedings in this action between Plaintiffs and the
Gemstone Defendants, other than those related to approval of the Settlement Agreement,
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are hereby stayed. Further, any actions brought by Settlement Class members concerning
the claims released in the Settlement Agreement are hereby enjoined and stayed pending
final approval of the Settlement Agreement.
14. 	Schedule and Deadlines. 	For clarity, the Court orders the following
schedule of dates for further proceedings:
Event 	Deadline
Gemstone Defendants Provide Class
Member Information To Settlement Class
Counsel
December 19, 2025
Deadline for Settlement Class Counsel To
Begin Sending and Posting Notice
January 2, 2026
Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs,
Expenses and Service Award To Be Filed
by Settlement Class Counsel
February 17, 2026
Deadline for Settlement Class Members
To File Objections
March 7, 2026
Deadline for Gemstone Defendants To
Respond To Motion for Attorneys’ Fees,
Costs, Expenses, and Service Award
March 7, 2026
Motion for Final Approval To Be Filed By
Settlement Class Counsel
April 9, 2026
Settlement Class Counsel To File Timely
Objections From Settlement Class
Members With the Court
April 9, 2026
Deadline for Gemstone Defendants To
Respond to Motion for Final Approval
April 23, 2026
Deadline To Respond to Settlement Class
Members’ Objections
April 23, 2026
Final Approval Hearing 	April 30, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. CDT
Dated: December 5, 2025 	s/Laura M. Provinzino
Laura M. Provinzino
United States District Judge
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