National Penn Overdraft Class Action Settlement

National Penn Bank has agreed to pay $975,000 to settle allegations that it improperly applied overdraft fees to customer accounts.

The allegations were brought by plaintiff Jennifer Collier in an overdraft fees class action lawsuit filed in June 2012. Collier alleges that defendant National Penn charged overdraft fees on debit transactions that did not actually overdraw the account.

The bank allegedly assessed these fees based on the account’s available balance, instead of using the ledger balance. The ledger balance tends to be higher and would not result in as many overdraft fees. Collier alleges this practice resulted in bank customers being charged for overdrafts even though they still had money in their accounts.

National Penn was purchased by Branch Banking & Trust Company in 2016, so some of the more recent court or settlement documents may refer to National Penn as Branch Banking & Trust.

This overdraft fees class action lawsuit was delayed for years while the parties disputed the effectiveness of an arbitration clause in one of the bank’s earlier account agreements. An appeals court ultimately agreed with the trial court’s determination that the arbitration agreement was not effective, as it had been superseded by a later account agreement that did not contain an arbitration clause.

National Penn continues to deny Collier’s allegations. The bank maintains there was nothing wrong with its overdraft fee policy.

Under terms of the National Penn class action settlement, the bank will create a settlement fund worth $975,000. This fund will be distributed to Class Members after it is used to cover Colllier’s service award, class counsel’s attorney fees, and the costs of administering the settlement.

Payments will be mailed automatically to known Class Members. Persons who believe they may be qualifying Class Members but who have not received a notice about the settlement may want to contact the settlement administrator for clarification.

Class Members may object to the settlement or ask to be excluded from it by submitting a written request by Nov. 7, 2017.

Who’s Eligible

The settlement Class covers U.S. persons who from June 8, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2011 held one or more National Penn deposit accounts and who were assessed an overdraft fee related to a debit card transaction that, according to the bank’s records, left the account overdrawn based on the available balance but not based on the ledger balance.

Potential Award

Varies.

The amount of each Class Member’s payment will be based in part on the total amount of overdraft fees charged to that Class Member’s account as a result of the disputed overdraft practice. There is no Claim Form. Payments will be mailed automatically to known Class Members.

Proof of Purchase

No proof of purchase is necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS »

Exclusion Deadline

11/7/2017

Case Name

Collier v. National Penn Bank, et al., Case No. 12061036, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Final Hearing

12/8/2017

Settlement Website

www.NationalPennOverdraftSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

National Penn Settlement Administrator
c/o Epiq Systems
P.O. Box 4068
Portland, OR 97208-4068
1-888-721-6299

Class Counsel

Kenneth Grunfeld
GOLOMB & HONIK PC

E. Adam Webb
WEBB KLASE & LEMOND LLC

Defense Counsel

Andrew J. Soven
REEDSMITH LLP