Anne Bucher  |  October 20, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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M&T Bank class action settlementOn Monday, a Florida federal judge preliminarily approved a class action settlement over allegations Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company (also known as M&T Bank) charged excessive overdraft fees by processing transactions of higher value first instead of processing the transactions in chronological order.

M&T agreed to pay $4 million to escape the overdraft fee class action lawsuit in exchange for the plaintiff dropping all charges against it. The parties filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of the overdraft fee class action settlement on Friday. U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King today granted preliminary approval to the overdraft fee settlement, finding its terms were “fair, reasonable and adequate.”

In approving the M&T Bank overdraft fee class action settlement, Judge King noted that the deal “was reached in absence of collusion, and is the product of informed, good-faith, arm’s-length negotiations between the parties and their capable and experienced counsel.”

Under the terms of the overdraft fee class action settlement, M&T Bank agreed to put $4 million into an escrow account within 14 days after the deal received preliminary approval. If the class action settlement gets final approval, eligible Class Members will be entitled to receive a pro rata share of the overdraft fee settlement fund. Class Members who do not opt out of the M&T Bank settlement will automatically receive compensation and will not need to submit a Claim Form.

Class Members of the M&T Bank class action settlement include all U.S. M&T Bank customers who had at least one bank account and incurred one or more overdraft fees due to M&T Banks’ high to low posting policy.

A final fairness hearing has been scheduled for March 4, 2015.

M&T Bank was just one of a group of lenders that were hit with class action lawsuits alleging they charged overdraft fees in such a way as to maximize the fees imposed on accountholders. The overdraft fee lawsuits were consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL), which is titled In re: Checking Account Overdraft Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

More information about the M&T Bank overdraft fee 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.

The plaintiffs are represented by Bruce S. Rogow of Bruce S. Rogow PA, and Aaron S. Podhurst, Robert C. Josefsberg, Steven C. Marks, Peter Prieto, Stephen F. Rosenthal and John Gravante III of Podhurst Orseck PA.

The M&T Overdraft Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Given v. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company a/k/a M&T Bank, Case No. 1:10-cv-20478-JLK, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The Overdraft Fee MDL is In re: Checking Account Overdraft Litigation, Case No. 1:09-md-02036, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPDATE: A website with details about the M&T overdraft fee class action settlement has been established. Click here or visit www.MTOverdraftSettlement.com to learn more.

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29 thoughts onM&T Bank Overdraft Fee Class Action Settlement Gets Preliminary OK

  1. Sharon Cummings says:

    I never recieved a poster would like to know how i can be included in this since they ripped me off big time on overdrafts fees.

  2. Rhea Jack says:

    Ditto. I liked banking with M&T for a year,until they started dirt bagging their customers. $4 million is probably a drop in the bucket– just enough to line the lawyers pockets decently, but not enough to fully pay back the thousands individual customers lost in overdraft fees. At first, I thought I was crazy because it just started happening all of a sudden with a fervor – hundreds of dollars of overdraft fees in the span of two days. One time they charged me $38 overdraft for less than a dollar…and my account balance was under a dollar because of the other multiple overdraft fees they charged by basically tricking me into thinking my account balance was reflective of my subsequent withdrawals.

  3. Nae says:

    Will I get money send to me if no longer have an account with M & T bank?? Who will keep me informed about what’s going on with the settlement?

  4. Heather says:

    4 Million is far from enough to cover the many affected after the lawyers get there 30+% out of it.. i know M&T STOLE over $500 from me before i got away from them

  5. Thomas Taylor says:

    Hello. I have a small business (DBA) that used to perform banking with M&T. I left this bank because of all these fees.Unfortunately, I was told that this class action is for personal accounts only! Small business is being left out. That’s not fair!

  6. Amin says:

    It seems as though a lot of people had this problem. Four million might not go too far. I’m curious to see how many people qualifies.

  7. terr says:

    I was a patient at Perry Point V A Hospital. While there i was going through the PTSD Program. I needed an account, so I opened one at M & T Bank. My Disability Check went there. It seemed like every other check they would try to make it so I could barely live on it. This kept happening untill i went to another bank. It would be a very good surprise to get soom of my monies bake. Shame on them…..

  8. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE: A website with details about the M&T overdraft fee class action settlement has been established. Click here or visit http://www.MTOverdraftSettlement.com to learn more.

  9. JOSEPH MESKO says:

    THE WORST BANK I EVER DEALT WITH IN MY LIFE THEY COST ME A SMALL FORTUNE

  10. sharon says:

    I had a joint account with this miserable bank. My uncle, who is now deceased, wanted my name on his account to make it easier after his death to close any account he had there. I also had a separate account. I remember my uncle complaining bitterly about these unfair overdraft fees. He would tell me constantly that he thought their actions were unfair, as did I. We wrote letters but NOTHNG was done. My question is would this settlement include my uncle as I am executor of his estate. P.s. I did receive a postcard, but it was my name only. Does anyone have an answer??

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