Published
June 29, 2026
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Dave Ramsey, The Lampo Group, LLC, and Happy Hour Media Group, LLC have not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Personal-finance personality Dave Ramsey is facing a proposed class action accusing him of using his radio show, podcast, and "Financial Peace University" platform to steer trusting listeners toward a timeshare-exit company that plaintiffs say was running a fraudulent scheme — while allegedly being paid tens of millions of dollars to do it.The case is captioned Patrick v. Ramsey, Case No. 2:23-cv-00630-JLR, and was filed on April 28, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle before Judge James L. Robart. Seventeen named plaintiffs bring the case on behalf of a proposed nationwide class against three defendants: Dave Ramsey individually; The Lampo Group, LLC (the company that produces and owns the Ramsey show, which Ramsey owns and controls); and Happy Hour Media Group, LLC (a Kirkland, Washington marketing firm). The allegations are unproven, and the defendants deny wrongdoing.
At the center of the case is Reed Hein & Associates, LLC, which did business as "Timeshare Exit Team." According to the complaint, Reed Hein charged consumers between $4,000 and $72,000 in upfront fees in exchange for a promise to terminate their timeshare obligations and a "100% money-back guarantee," but allegedly failed to deliver real exits and used delay tactics and excuses to avoid honoring refunds. Reed Hein separately agreed to a $2.61 million consent decree with the Washington State Attorney General in 2021 and shut down in 2022; this lawsuit instead targets the people who allegedly marketed it.
Status
Lawsuit Filed — Active Litigation
Proposed class action · filed April 28, 2023 · W.D. Wash. (Case No. 2:23-cv-00630-JLR)
Allegation
Paid endorsements of an alleged timeshare-exit scheme
Plaintiffs allege Ramsey was paid more than $30M to promote Timeshare Exit Team; class members allegedly paid Reed Hein in excess of $70M
Damages Sought
In excess of $150 million
Disgorgement plus treble damages under the Washington Consumer Protection Act
Can I Claim?
No — nothing to claim yet
No settlement, no fund, no claim form at this stage
What the Lawsuit Alleges
According to the complaint, Reed Hein founded Timeshare Exit Team in 2012 and built a scheme that convinced thousands of consumers to pay more than $200 million for what plaintiffs describe as a "hollow promise" to terminate their timeshare contracts. Plaintiffs allege the company told customers their timeshare obligations were "perpetual" and would be inherited by their children — claims the complaint says are false — and pushed customers away from hiring real lawyers in favor of a "proprietary process" that allegedly did not exist.The complaint alleges that instead of delivering exits, Reed Hein often told customers to simply stop paying their timeshare bills in the hope of triggering a foreclosure, and that this advice damaged customers' credit and, in some cases, led timeshare developers to foreclose or send accounts to collections. When customers asked for the promised refunds, plaintiffs allege, Reed Hein invented reasons to deny them or stopped returning calls.
The case against the named defendants is about how those customers were recruited. Plaintiffs allege that from 2015 to 2021, Reed Hein — paying through Happy Hour Media Group — hired Dave Ramsey and The Lampo Group to promote Timeshare Exit Team across Ramsey's radio show, podcast, website, newsletters, paid seminars, and Financial Peace University courses. According to the complaint, Ramsey repeatedly told listeners that he had personally vetted the company, called it the only timeshare-exit provider he trusted, and described it as staffed by "legal specialists" with a proprietary exit process. Plaintiffs allege those statements were false and that Ramsey, as an experienced financial advisor, knew or should have known the company could not deliver what it promised.
The complaint further alleges that the least sophisticated consumer would not have understood that Ramsey and The Lampo Group were being paid for the endorsements — which plaintiffs say were presented as independent advice — and that Ramsey kept promoting the company even after lawsuits, arbitration awards, a Better Business Bureau alert, a federal court finding in a separate Florida case, and the Washington Attorney General's enforcement action put him on notice of the alleged fraud. Plaintiffs allege Ramsey stopped promoting Timeshare Exit Team only in 2021, when the company stopped paying his fee. The defendants dispute these characterizations, and none of the allegations has been proven.
How Much Money Is at Stake
The complaint alleges that customers referred by the defendants paid Reed Hein in excess of $70 million in timeshare "exit" fees, and that Reed Hein, through Happy Hour Media Group, allegedly paid Ramsey roughly $450,000 per month — more than $30 million in total — for his promotions over the course of the endorsement relationship.Plaintiffs bring four claims: violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and civil conspiracy. They seek disgorgement of the defendants' profits, damages for fees class members paid timeshare companies while waiting on Reed Hein, and damages — including treble damages under the Consumer Protection Act — in excess of $150 million, plus attorneys' fees and a jury trial. These are the amounts plaintiffs are asking for, not amounts any court has awarded.
Where the Case Stands Now
This is not a brand-new filing, and it has already produced two notable rulings. After the complaint was filed, the court ruled on the defendants' motion to dismiss in late 2023, allowing the core consumer-protection, negligent-misrepresentation, and conspiracy claims to move forward while trimming the unjust-enrichment theory against Ramsey and The Lampo Group. The bulk of the case survived and continued.Ramsey also sought to force the dispute out of court and into private arbitration, pointing to the arbitration clause in Reed Hein's customer contracts. The district court rejected that, and in 2025 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed, reasoning that Ramsey could not compel arbitration based on a customer contract he never signed and was not a party to. That keeps the proposed class action in federal court.
As of this writing, no class has been certified, there is no settlement, and there is no money available to consumers. The case remains in active litigation.
Who Could Be Affected?
Because no class has been certified, the exact class definition and covered time period are not final. As described in the complaint, the proposed class would generally cover individuals who paid money to Reed Hein and Timeshare Exit Team for the purpose of obtaining an "exit" from their timeshare obligations after being exposed to, or in reliance on, the statements made by Dave Ramsey and The Lampo Group. Plaintiffs estimate the class at more than 10,000 people across the United States and Canada.If you paid Timeshare Exit Team after hearing Ramsey promote it, it may be worth holding on to your contract, payment records, and any correspondence in case a class is later certified and a claims process opens. There is nothing to file right now.
Why This Case Matters
Endorsement cases against media personalities are unusual, which is part of what makes this one notable. Most consumers understand that an ad is an ad — but the complaint's theory is that Ramsey's recommendations were delivered as trusted, faith-tinged financial advice rather than as paid spots, blurring the line between an honest recommendation and a paid placement. The Federal Trade Commission's endorsement rules ask that material connections between a promoter and the product be disclosed clearly; plaintiffs argue that did not happen here.For readers, the broader takeaway is a familiar one: a glowing recommendation from a trusted voice can still be a paid promotion, and "money-back guarantees" on upfront-fee services are only as good as the company standing behind them. Whether the court ultimately holds Ramsey and his co-defendants responsible is a question for the litigation — but the case is a useful reminder to verify big-ticket consumer claims independently before paying.
What Happens Next?
With arbitration off the table, the case will continue through discovery, and the plaintiffs will, at some point, ask the court to certify a class. Any of these steps can take many months, and the case could be narrowed, settled, or tried along the way. OpenClassActions.com will continue watching the docket for major updates, including class-certification activity, summary-judgment rulings, settlement talks, or any future claim form.Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a Dave Ramsey timeshare settlement yet?
No. Patrick v. Ramsey is a proposed class action lawsuit filed in April 2023 in the Western District of Washington. There is no settlement, no fund, and no claim form. The defendants have not been found liable just because a lawsuit was filed.What does the lawsuit allege?
That Reed Hein & Associates, doing business as Timeshare Exit Team, ran a deceptive timeshare-exit scheme, and that Dave Ramsey and The Lampo Group were paid through Happy Hour Media Group to endorse it to Ramsey's audience from 2015 to 2021. Plaintiffs allege Ramsey called the company trustworthy and "vetted" while it allegedly failed to deliver exits or refunds. The allegations are unproven.How much was Dave Ramsey allegedly paid?
The complaint alleges Reed Hein paid Ramsey roughly $450,000 per month — more than $30 million in total — and that class members paid Reed Hein in excess of $70 million after being referred by the defendants. These are allegations from the complaint.What did the Ninth Circuit decide?
In 2025, the Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court that Ramsey could not force the case into private arbitration, because his argument relied on a Reed Hein customer contract that he never signed. The case stays in federal court.Do I need to file a claim?
No. Because this is a lawsuit and not a settlement, there is nothing to claim and no deadline. If a class is certified and the case ever settles or results in a judgment, a claims process and deadlines would be announced then.Sources
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington — complaint and docket in Patrick v. Ramsey, Case No. 2:23-cv-00630-JLR (filed April 28, 2023).• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — 2025 decision affirming the denial of Dave Ramsey's motion to compel arbitration.
• Washington State Office of the Attorney General — State of Washington v. Reed Hein consent decree (2021).
• Reuters and national news coverage of the Dave Ramsey / Timeshare Exit Team litigation.
Class Action Complaint (PDF)
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Status
Lawsuit Filed — Active Litigation
Case Title
Patrick v. Ramsey
Case Number
2:23-cv-00630-JLR
Court
U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington (Seattle)
Date Filed
April 28, 2023
Defendants
David L. Ramsey III; The Lampo Group, LLC; Happy Hour Media Group, LLC
Claims
WA Consumer Protection Act; Negligent Misrepresentation; Unjust Enrichment; Conspiracy
