Published
September 30, 2026
Florida tenants who paid a security deposit to SELA Realty Investments LLC between April 4, 2021 and April 4, 2025 and had part of it kept may qualify to claim 60% of that deposit from the SELA Realty security deposit class action settlement. Claims close November 22, 2026; the final approval hearing is set for December 2, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open through November 22, 2026. The Duval County Circuit Court granted preliminary approval on September 2, 2026 and will hold the final approval hearing by Zoom on December 2, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.; no final approval order has been entered and no payment date has been announced as of September 30, 2026. Class members were notified by email, and the online claim form requires the Notice ID and PIN from that notice.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Claims Open
Claim Deadline
November 22, 2026
Online, or mailed claim form postmarked by this date
Estimated Payout
60% of your deposit
Plus old balances cleared for move-outs by Dec. 31, 2024
Proof Required
Yes — Notice ID & PIN
From the settlement notice · no lease or receipts needed
What Changed Recently?
SELA Realty Investments LLC, a New Jersey company that manages residential rental units in Florida, agreed to settle Gail Coleman v. SELA Realty Investments LLC, a proposed class action in the Circuit Court of the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Duval County. The parties reached the terms at a mediation on April 24, 2025. On September 2, 2026, Judge Michael Sharrit certified a settlement class, granted preliminary approval, and ordered notice sent to class members by email. The administrator, American Legal Claims, now runs the claim process on the official settlement website.The lawsuit alleges that SELA Realty kept tenants' security deposits without giving them the chance to object within Florida's 15-day objection window, and failed to send a legally sufficient certified-mail notice within 30 days of move-out when it intended to make a claim on a deposit. The complaint asserts claims under the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act. SELA Realty denies any wrongdoing, says its practices complied with the law, and maintains that class members still owe it amounts for damages, fees and costs under their leases. The court has not ruled on the merits.
Florida tenants have seen similar deposit cases before, including the Bridge Investment Group Florida security deposit settlement and the Invitation Homes security deposit settlement, both of which have closed.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class covers people in Florida who, from April 4, 2021 through April 4, 2025, paid a security deposit at a property SELA Realty owned or managed, had any part of that deposit retained, and may not have received a certified-mail notice within 30 days of moving out that stated SELA's intent to claim the deposit and included the disclosures Florida law requires. The court's order puts the class at 391 tenants, and the class list comes from SELA Realty's records.Excluded are the presiding judge and Florida appellate judges and their immediate families, the released parties, counsel of record, anyone who already released these claims with SELA Realty, and anyone who opts out.
How Much Can You Get?
A class member who files a valid claim is paid 60% of the security deposit they paid to SELA Realty. The payment is tied to each person's own deposit rather than divided from a shared pool, so it is not reduced by how many others file. SELA Realty will fund up to $141,793.77, which equals 60% of the deposits for all 391 class members; if the class turns out to be larger, the fund grows by 60% of each additional member's deposit.Spread across all 391 class members, that fund works out to roughly $363 each on average. That is an OCA calculation for context only; your payment depends on the size of your own deposit.
The second benefit is debt relief. Under the signed settlement agreement, class members who moved out on or before December 31, 2024 have any outstanding balance owed to SELA Realty brought to $0, including balances sent to a debt collector, and SELA Realty cannot sue class members to collect it. That relief totals $669,408.48. The website notice gives the move-out cutoff as December 31, 2024 in its summary and December 31, 2025 in its benefits section; the agreement's definition uses December 31, 2024.
Class counsel's fees and expenses (up to $75,000), a class representative award of up to $2,000, and administration costs estimated at $10,700 are paid by SELA Realty separately and do not come out of the tenants' payments. Money left in the fund after all claims are paid reverts to SELA Realty or its insurers.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
No lease, receipts or move-out paperwork are needed, but the online claim form opens only after the claimant enters the Notice ID and PIN from the settlement notice. The settlement agreement describes the emailed notice as carrying a class member ID for the online claim form. Class members who were sent a paper claim form can instead complete it and mail it back. The claim form also asks the claimant to choose how to be paid.What Is the Deadline?
Online claims must be submitted, and mailed claim forms postmarked, by November 22, 2026. The notice does not give a time of day. Requests to be excluded are due by the same date.The objection deadline is less clear. The website notice lists November 22, 2026, but the court's preliminary approval order says an objection must be filed at least 14 days before the December 2 hearing, which is November 18, 2026. Anyone who wants to speak at the hearing must file a notice of intent to appear by November 18, 2026. An objector working from the notice alone would be safest filing by the earlier date.
How Do You Take Action?
- File a claim: go to the official SELA Settlement website, enter the Notice ID and PIN, complete the claim form and pick a payment method by November 22, 2026.
- Exclude yourself: mail a signed request with your name and address stating that you want to be excluded from the Coleman v. SELA settlement and understand you will receive no benefits, postmarked by November 22, 2026. Excluding yourself is the only way to keep the right to sue SELA Realty over the released claims.
- Object: file a signed written objection with the Duval County clerk and send copies to class counsel and SELA Realty's counsel, with your contact information, documentation showing you are in the class, and the reasons for the objection. A person who opts out cannot object.
What Happens Next?
Judge Sharrit will decide at the December 2, 2026 hearing whether to grant final approval and whether to award the requested fees and class representative payment. The notice says the hearing may move without further notice. If the settlement is approved, it takes effect one day after judgment when no one objects, or 31 days after judgment if there are objections but no appeal. The administrator sends payments 30 days after that effective date. An appeal would delay payment until it is resolved.Sources and Verification
- Settlement Agreement and Release in Gail Coleman v. SELA Realty Investments LLC, Case No. 2025-CA-002010, executed by the parties.
- Order Certifying Settlement Class and Granting Preliminary Approval to the Proposed Class Action Settlement, signed September 2, 2026 by Judge Michael Sharrit, Circuit Court of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Duval County, Florida.
- Long-form website notice, version dated September 4, 2026, embedded below.
- Official settlement website — SELA Settlement, including its online claim verification page.
OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news site and is not the settlement administrator or a law firm. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
Questions
I lost the SELA settlement email. Can I still file?
The online claim form asks for the Notice ID and PIN sent with the notice, so a class member without them should use the contact options on the official settlement website to have the notice or credentials resent before the November 22, 2026 deadline. The notice was sent by email to the address SELA Realty had on file, with a mailed notice only when the email bounced.
Does the SELA settlement wipe out money I still owe on my old lease?
For class members who moved out on or before December 31, 2024, the settlement agreement reduces any outstanding balance owed to SELA Realty to $0, including balances sent to a debt collector, and SELA Realty agrees not to sue class members to collect it. The debt relief totals $669,408.48 across the class. The website notice gives the move-out cutoff as December 31, 2025 in one place and December 31, 2024 in another; the signed agreement uses December 31, 2024.
What happens to SELA settlement money that is not claimed?
Money left in the settlement fund after every valid claim is paid goes back to SELA Realty or its insurers. Settlement checks are valid for 90 days, and money from checks not cashed in that time goes to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, subject to court approval.
Do attorneys' fees come out of the SELA tenants' payments?
No. SELA Realty pays class counsel's fees and expenses of up to $75,000, the class representative's award of up to $2,000 and the administration costs separately, so they do not reduce the 60% deposit payments. All of those amounts still need court approval.
Official Settlement Notice
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
Up to $141,793.77 cash + $669,408.48 debt relief
Case Title
Gail Coleman v. SELA Realty Investments LLC
Case Number
2025-CA-002010
Court
Circuit Court of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Duval County, Florida
Final Approval Hearing
December 2, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.
Via Zoom · Judge Michael Sharrit
Administrator
American Legal Claims
Official Website
SELA Settlement
