Wells Fargo Settles Robocall Class Action Lawsuit for $16.3 Million

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells) has agreed to a preliminary $16.3 million settlement to end a robocall class action lawsuit that claims the company made unauthorized calls to customers’ cell phones using a robocaller, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Named plaintiffs Steven L. Markos, Tiffany Davis and Gregory Page filed the robocall class action lawsuit alleging that the calls at issue were, without exception, non-emergency, debt-collection calls and texts made in connection with Home Equity Loans and Residential Mortgage Loans.

Markos filed the robocall class action lawsuit in April of last year. Page filed a similar putative robocall class action lawsuit in Illinois federal court in July, while Davis launched a proposed robocall class action lawsuit with similar allegations in Georgia federal court in August.

In Fall 2015, the courts stayed the class action lawsuits for mediation and in June, Markos motioned for leave to amend his robocall class action lawsuit to include Page and Davis as named co-plaintiffs.

“The settlement was reached only after good faith, contentious, arm’s-length negotiations, with the assistance of an experienced and well-respected private mediator,” plaintiffs said. “The settlement provides excellent value for the class.”

Robocall Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Terms

Under the terms of the proposed robocaller settlement, Wells Fargo would pay a non-reversionary cash sum of approximately $16,319,000, which, after deductions for costs and attorney’s fees, would be distributed on a pro rata basis to the Class Members who file qualified claims.

The expected per-class-member cash award, while dependent upon the number of claims, may be in the range of $25 to $75.

The proposed Settlement Class is defined as: All users or subscribers to a wireless or cellular service within the United States who used or subscribed to a phone number to which Wells Fargo made or initiated one or more Calls during the Class Period using any automated dialing technology or artificial or prerecorded voice technology, according to Wells Fargo’s available records, and who are within Subclass One and/or Two.

Subclass One consists of “persons who used or subscribed to a cellular phone number to which Wells Fargo made or initiated a Call or Calls in connection with a Residential Mortgage Loan.”

Subclass Two consists of “persons who used or subscribed to a cellular phone number to which Wells Fargo made or initiated a Call or Calls in connection with a Home Equity Loan.”

A person who is a member of both Subclasses is eligible to make two claims on the Settlement Fund.

The three Class Representatives are seeking awards for their time and effort on behalf of the Class, and Wells has agreed not to object to such incentive payments to be paid to Davis, Markos and Page from the Settlement Fund provided that the payments do not exceed $60,000 in the aggregate or $20,000 for each Class Representative, subject to Court approval.

Class Counsel will apply to the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs of 30% of the Settlement Fund. However, the Settlement is not dependent or conditioned upon the Court’s approval of Plaintiffs’ requests for fees or costs or an award of any specific amount.

About the TCPA

The TCPA, enacted in 1991, is the main federal law that seeks to curb unsolicited phone calls placed using an automatic telephone dialing system or robocaller.

Most pre-recorded or robocalls are banned unless you previously gave consent to receive the call or the call was made for emergency purposes. This ban applies even if you have not placed your phone number on the national Do Not Call list of numbers telemarketers must not call.

The Wells Fargo Robocall Class Action Lawsuit is Steven L. Markos et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, Case No. 1:15-cv-01156, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.

UPDATE: The Wells Fargo TCPA class action settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim!

UPDATE 2: On May 1, 2017, Top Class Actions viewers who filed timely and valid claims for the Wells Fargo class action settlement started receiving checks worth as much as $37.90!

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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