BofA Overdraft Fee Settlement Gives ‘Free Ride’ to Uber, State AG Offices Say

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A group of state attorney general offices sent a letter asking a New York federal judge to deny a proposed $22 million class action settlement with Bank of America over claims it improperly charged overdraft fees on debit card transactions with Uber Technologies Inc.

The AG offices express “significant concern” over the fact the proposed BofA class action settlement releases Uber from liability because Uber was not a defendant or a party to the litigation, nor is it an agent of Bank of America.

They note that it is common for class action settlements to release the defendants’ agents, successors and similarly-situated persons.

They argue that third parties that were not participants in the litigation should not be considered for release from a settlement, because approving such a release would “create a problematic precedent.”

“And yet the Settlement Agreement releases Uber from ‘any claim[s] … from the beginning of the world until today … that … were or could have been asserted in the Complaint [or] arise out of, relate to, or are in connection with the assessment of overdraft fee on one-time non-recurring Uber transactions,” the attorneys general state in their letter.

They claim that this type of release is unusual because no claims were brought against Uber in this case.

“It is particularly noteworthy that Uber is paying no consideration whatsoever to the class for its release–meaning that the Settlement Agreement is giving it a ‘free ride,’” the AG offices argue.

The AG offices argue that the Bank of America class action settlement, as currently written, is inequitable and should be denied final approval.

The letter was joined by the attorney general offices in New York, Arizona, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington. It was also joined by an attorney from the Financial Fraud/Consumer Protection Division of the Oregon Department of Justice.

If approved, the Bank of America settlement would put an end to class action lawsuit filed against the bank in November 2016 over allegations it authorized and charged overdraft fees on “everyday nonrecurring debit card transactions” despite promising account holders that it would not authorize the overdraft charges.

According to the overdraft fee class action lawsuit, Bank of America misclassified debit card charges from Uber as recurring transactions and allowed these charges to be processed as overdrafts. Bank of America charged $35 per overdraft, the plaintiffs claim.

Bank of America denies the allegations but agreed to settle the overdraft fee class action lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation.

The BofA overdraft fee class action settlement offers eligible Class Members an award of $20 per eligible overdraft fee.

No Claim Form is required to be eligible for the award; qualified Class Members will automatically receive payment if the settlement is approved and any and all appeals are resolved.

The final hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 8, 2018.

The plaintiffs are represented by Robert R. Ahdoot, Tina Wolfson, Theodore W. Maya and Vanessa Shakib of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC.

The Bank of America Overdraft Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Pantelyat, et al. v. Bank of America NA, et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-08964, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.