Wells Fargo Agrees to $30M FHA Mortgage Class Action Settlement

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A $30 million settlement has been proposed that would end a Wells Fargo FHA mortgage class action lawsuit alleging that the bank charged consumers interest even after they had paid off their loan.

Lead plaintiff Vana Fowler alleges in the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit that Federal Housing Administration mortgage holders were unfairly charged interest.

She claims that Wells Fargo assessed interest fees on amounts they had already submitted payments on for nearly two decades.

According to the Wells Fargo FHA mortgage class action lawsuit, the bank will pay $30 million to more than 1 million Class Members hit with the interest charges. That would amount to a nearly $30 payment to each Class Member.

“The Settlement was reached after months of discovery, arm’s-length negotiations, and a mediator’s proposal, and enjoys the support of a neutral mediator who had an integral part in the settlement negotiations,” states the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval of the Wells Fargo class action settlement agreement.

Under the terms of the Wells Fargo FHA mortgage class action settlement, the class representatives will receive a $7,500 and $5,000 award for bringing the claims. The attorneys are asking for $7.5 million in fees.

“This case presents no realistic alternative to a class action because it is a ‘negative value suit’ with more than 1.1 million class members; i.e., a case where an individual suit will cost a class member more than he or she could recover,” states the plaintiffs’ motion.

The Wells Fargo FHA mortgage class action lawsuit alleged that the bank failed to meet strict HUD standards when it assessed post-payment interest fees on FHA mortgage holders. Wells Fargo argued that it had not violated the standards and the parties participated in mediation.

The proposed Class in the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit includes “the collective group of all persons nationwide who had an FHA-Insured Loan that was originated beginning June 1, 1996 and ending January 20, 2015, where (i) Wells Fargo or its predecessor was the mortgagee or servicer as of the date the total amount due on the FHA-Insured Loan was brought to zero, (ii) Wells Fargo collected Post-Payment Interest on the FHA-Insured Loan during the applicable Limitations Period,  and (iii) the borrower made a prepayment inquiry, request for payoff figures, or tender of prepayment but did not receive a Payoff Statement containing the verbatim Post-Payment Interest disclosure language in Housing Handbook, 4330.1 REV-5 Appendix 8(c) or the verbatim language contained in the ‘Payoff Disclosure’ referenced in the Housing Handbook 4000.1.”

The Wells Fargo class action settlement preliminary approval hearing will take place on Aug. 9, 2018.

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The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class are represented by Michael F. Ram and Susan S. Brown of Robins Kaplan LLP, Kevin E. Epps and Adam L. Hoipkemier of Epps Holloway Deloach & Hoipkemier LLC and Samuel Strauss of Turke & Strauss LLP.

The Wells Fargo FHA Mortgage Class Action Lawsuit is Fowler v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, Case No. 4:17­-cv­02092, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California.

UPDATE: On Aug. 22, 2018, a California federal judge gave initial approval to a $30 million class action settlement over allegations Wells Fargo Bank NA charged interest to home loan borrowers after they paid off their FHA-insured loans.

UPDATE 2: October 2018, the Wells Fargo FHA loan interest class action settlement is now open. Click here for more information.