FirstMerit Bank Overdraft Class Action Settlement
Class Eligibility
The Class includes all persons (excluding Defendants’ officers or directors and Court personnel involved in this case) who, from March 16, 2005, to August 13, 2010:
- Had an account with FirstMerit, Bank N.A. that permitted funds in such account to be accessible by a debit card;
- Had more than one Debit Card Transaction in a single day;
- Had their Debit Card Transactions posted from highest to lowest dollar amount; and
Incurred an Overdraft Fee as a result of FirstMerit’s practice of posting Debit Card Transactions from highest to lowest dollar amount that would not have been incurred had FirstMerit posted Debit Card Transactions “chronologically” as part of the following posting order: - Fees and other non-customer-initiated debits in high to low order;
- All ACH transactions from lowest dollar amount to highest dollar amount;
- All checks in low to high order;
- All Debit Card Transactions for which information regarding the time of day that the Debit Card Transaction was authorized at the point of sale or ATM is available, in chronological order;
- All Debit Card Transactions for which information regarding the time of day that the Debit Card Transaction was authorized at the point of sale or ATM is not available, in low to high order.
Estimated Amount
Varies
This settlement includes monetary compensation as well as debt forgiveness
Proof of Purchase
Yes
Case Name
Emily Jacobs Et Al v. HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES INCORPORATED, and THE HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK
Case No. 11CV000090
Court of Common Pleas Lake County Ohio
Case Summary
The lawsuit claims that FirstMerit unlawfully rearranged the order by which Debit Card Transactions were posted in customers’ deposit accounts to increase the number of overdrafts that their accounts would experience in any particular day and to improperly charge excessive and unwarranted Overdraft Fees. Plaintiffs also alleged that FirstMerit began “commingling” or grouping customers’ Debit Card Transactions with checks and other non-check debits together for purposes of posting. The lawsuit also claimed that FirstMerit did not inform its customers of this commingling or its effect, combined with debit reordering, of greatly increasing the number of overdrafts and Overdraft Fees.
The Defendants maintain there was nothing wrong with the posting process used by FirstMerit and that it complied, at all times, with applicable laws and regulations and the terms of the account agreements with its customers. The Parties have decided to settle the case and the Court has not decided who is right.
Settlement Pool
$15,975,000
Settlement Website
Deadline
6/19/2017
Contact
FirstMerit Overdraft Settlement
P.O. Box 6389
Portland, OR 97228-6389
1-844-616-6615 (Toll-Free)
info@FirstMeritOverdraftSettlement.com
Fax 1-844-603-5052
