Bank of America Agrees to $27.5M Overdraft Fee Class Action Settlement

Bank of America has agreed to pay $27.5 million in order to settle a class action lawsuit stemming over allegations that the bank unfairly charged overdraft fees for debit card transactions on accounts that contained enough funds to cover purchases.

Lead plaintiff Sherry L. Bodnar filed the Bank of America class action lawsuit in 2014 seeking reimbursement for the overdraft charges she claims were imposed upon her through a misleading assessment of her bank account which actually had sufficient funds to pay for the transaction.

According to the Bank of America overdraft fee class action settlement, the parties engaged in extensive negotiations in order to reach the terms of the settlement agreement which is anticipated to include three million Class Members.

Bodnar urged the court to approve the Bank of America class action settlement stating that “The Settlement was reached only after strongly contested litigation and extensive discovery over nearly two years—and is the result of arm’s length, good faith negotiations between the parties, including, most recently, negotiations moderated by both Magistrate Judge Wells and the highly experienced mediator Judge Phillips.”

Under the Bank of America settlement agreement, none of the $27.5 million will go back to the bank in any way. Although potential Class Members will receive a portion of the settlement fund depending on the number of overdraft fees they were charged, no one will get a payment less than $5.

The BOA overdraft fee class action settlement will also award Bodnar no more than $20,000 for her involvement in the case as well as up to 33 percent of the total funds going toward the counsel for the proposed class.

Bodnar accused the banking giant of violating state consumer protection laws as well as breaching the contracts of Bank of America account holders. She has asked the court to set a hearing on final approval of the settlement for no later than June.

The Bank of America class action lawsuit settlement will include all BOA checking account holders within the U.S. who were charged an overdraft fee on transactions that were authorized and approved when sufficient funds were available since May 25, 2011.

More information about the Bank of America overdraft fee class action settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

Plaintiffs are represented by Hassan A. Zavareei and Jeffrey Kaliel of Tycko & Zavareei LLP, Jeffrey M. Ostrow of Kopelowitz Ostrow PA, and James C. Shah of Shepherd Finkelman Miller & Shah LLP.

The Bank of America Overdraft Fee Class Action Lawsuit Settlement is Sherry L. Bodnar v. Bank of America NA, Case No. 5:14-cv-03224, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

UPDATE: On Mar. 29, 2016, the Bank of America overdraft fee class action settlement is now open! Click here for more information or visit www.BankofAmericaOverdraftSettlement.com..

UPDATE July 22, 2016: A class member filed an objection, arguing that the settlement is too small and attorney fees are too high.