JPMorgan Reaches $2M Reward Points Forfeiture Settlement

A $2 million settlement has been proposed in a class action lawsuit that accuses JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Chase Bank USA NA of closing consumer credit card accounts without allowing them to redeem Chase rewards points they had collected.

Plaintiff Harry Gao initially filed the rewards points class action lawsuit against the Chase defendants in June 2014, and Roberta Socall was added as a plaintiff in August 2014.

Gao says the defendants closed his Chase Freedom credit card account in July 2013 and did not allow him to redeem the rewards points he had collected during the two years he had the credit card.

Chase disputed the plaintiffs’ claims, arguing that the marketing materials they were provided about the Chase rewards credit cards indicated that the rewards points could be lost when the credit card was closed. The bank maintains that it did not mislead its customers.

Chase vigorously fought against the litigation and the parties participated in mediation on May 17, 2016.

The Chase defendants have denied any wrongdoing or liability. However, they agreed to settle the rewards points forfeiture class action lawsuit to avoid the risk and uncertainty inherent in litigation and the cost associated with trial and any subsequent appeals.

According to court documents filed in New York federal court, the proposed Chase class action settlement would resolve the plaintiffs’ fraudulent inducement and deceptive practices claims.

Approximately 55,000 Chase cardholders may be qualified to participate in the Chase rewards settlement.

Class Members of the proposed Chase rewards points settlement includes Chase cardholders who, since 2009, had their rewards points forfeited after their Chase credit card accounts were closed and were not given the opportunity to redeem the points they had earned.

Under the terms of the proposed Chase credit card rewards settlement, Class Members will receive up to 1 cent per rewards point that was forfeited.

Chase has agreed to provide data about the affected Class Members to the Settlement Administrator, who will send notice of the settlement via mail.

This mailed notice will include the total number of forfeited points. The court documents indicate that the notices would be mailed to Class Members within 10 days after the Chase rewards points settlement is preliminarily approved.

“The court has good cause to grant preliminary approval of this settlement, which is the product of vigorous, arm’s-length negotiations by experienced counsel,” the plaintiffs urged in their motion supporting preliminary approval of the Chase rewards points settlement. “The resulting settlement is a fair, reasonable and adequate resolution of all claims.”

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the green “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiffs are represented by Kenneth J. Grunfeld and Richard M. Golomb of Golomb Honik PC and Ted Trief and Barbara Olk of Trief & Olk.

The JPMorgan Chase Rewards Points Class Action Lawsuit is Harry Gao, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-04281, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: The Chase Credit Card Rewards Points Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim!