Rios LLC Settlement: Eligibility, Payouts, and Hearing Date

The Rios LLC settlement is a proposed $3,862,000 class action resolution in Maria Camila Valencia Rios et al. v. Belvedere NRDE, LLC et al., covering Virginia tenants who were charged pest control, Community, and Lease Administration fees at apartment complexes managed by Pegasus Residential. Eligible tenants identified in Pegasus’s records will receive payment automatically if the court grants final approval at a hearing set for August 24, 2026.¹

Who Is Covered

You are in the broader Pegasus Settlement Class if you signed a lease at a Virginia apartment community managed by Pegasus Residential and either paid or were obligated to pay the pest control fee, Community Fee, or Lease Administration Fee between June 23, 2023, and January 29, 2026.²

A smaller Participating Landlords Settlement Subclass, estimated at 8,697 members, covers tenants at ten specific Virginia properties and receives a share of an additional $1,212,000 contribution from the landlord entities. Those properties are:³

Innslake Place
Glenmoor Oaks
The Belvedere
The Point at Beaufont (including Beaufont I and Beaufont II)
Hickory Creek
River Forest
Spring Water
Copper Mill

How the Money Is Divided

The $3,862,000 total breaks into two pieces. A $2,650,000 fund covers all members of the Pegasus Settlement Class. A separate $1,212,000 contribution from specific landlord entities goes to the Participating Landlords Settlement Subclass, so tenants at the ten listed properties share in both pools.¹

Class counsel at Kelly Guzzo, PLC may ask the court for up to one-third of the total fund (approximately $1,287,000) in attorneys’ fees and expenses. Each of the three named plaintiffs may receive a service award of up to $15,000. The defendants have also agreed to stop collecting the Community Fee and the Lease Administration Fee going forward.²

Individual payment amounts vary and are listed on the personal notice sent to each class member.

How to Get Paid

You don’t have to file a claim form. If you appear in Pegasus’s records as an eligible tenant, a settlement check will be issued to you automatically after final approval, unless you opt out.¹

If you’ve moved or need to correct your information, update your mailing address through landlordsettlement.com using the Notice ID and PIN printed on your mailed notice. No payments will go out until after the final approval hearing.

Deadline to Opt Out or Object

If you want to exclude yourself from the settlement, you must mail a written opt-out request postmarked no later than July 13, 2026, to:

Rios v Belvedere, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 23648, Jacksonville, FL 32241.¹

Written objections to the settlement must be filed with the Clerk of Court by that same date.² If you opt out, you give up any payment from this settlement but keep the right to sue separately. If you do nothing, you remain in the class, receive a payment, and release your claims.

Final Approval Hearing

The case is before the Honorable Robert E. Payne in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Case No. 3:25-cv-00474-REP-MRC). The court has granted preliminary approval and tentatively certified the class for settlement purposes.¹

The final approval hearing is scheduled for August 24, 2026, in Richmond, Virginia. Judge Payne will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. Checks follow only after that approval.¹

What the Lawsuit Alleged

The three named plaintiffs, Maria Camila Valencia Rios, Aquarius Filali, and Nadji Filali, sued Pegasus Residential, LLC along with property-owning entities Belvedere NRDE, LLC and Glenmoor Oaks NRDE, LLC.¹ They challenged three charges added to tenant leases: a pest control fee, a Community Fee, and a Lease Administration Fee.

The plaintiffs argued the fees violated the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which they said imposes non-waivable landlord duties for pest control, trash disposal, and common-area maintenance that cannot be repackaged as separate tenant charges. They also claimed the fees violated the Virginia Consumer Protection Act as deceptive representations, because tenants were led to pay extra for services the landlord was already legally required to provide.²

The defendants deny all allegations of liability and are settling to end the litigation.²

1
Landlord Settlement. Settlement FAQ
2
Landlord Settlement. Maria Camila Valencia Rios et al. v. Belvedere NRDE, LLC et al. — Official Settlement Notice
3
ClaimDepot. Landlord Settlement