A class action lawsuit has been settled in regards to the order in which Citizens Bank posted Debit Card Transactions to customer accounts. The lawsuit claims that Citizen Bank reordered debit-card transactions from highest to lowest in order to maximize the number of overdraft fees that could be charged to a customer resulting in more profits for the bank. Citizens Bank denies any action of wrong doing but has agreed to settle to avoid a time consuming legal battle. The lawsuit is entitled Checking Account Overdraft Litigation and is in the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. You might be part of the $137.5 million settlement if you had a Citizens Bank debit card between 2002 and 2010. All claim forms in the lawsuit are due no later than 01/31/2013 and the court will conduct a fairness hearing on March 7, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will be located at the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building, 99 Northeast Fourth Street, Miami, FL 33132. Class members are not required to attend in order to receive a settlement. Class members of the Citizens Bank Overdraft Settlement Lawsuit are defined as the following:
• Had a Citizens consumer deposit account that you could access with a Citizens debit card anytime between January 1, 2002 and August 13, 2010, and/or had a Charter One consumer deposit account that you could access with a Charter One debit card any time between July 25, 2005 and August 13, 2010; and/or
• Had an Acquired Bank consumer deposit account that you could access with a debit card between January 1, 2002 and August 27, 2007; and
• Were charged one or more overdraft fees as a result of posting Debit Card Transactions from highest to lowest dollar amount.
More details about the lawsuit can be obtained by writing to: Settlement Administrator at Citizens Overdraft Settlement, PO Box 3410, Portland, OR 97208-3410. Class members will be represented by the law firms of Bruce S. Rogow, Podhurst Orseck, Grossman Roth and Trief & Olk. Settlement payment amounts are unknown at this time and will depend on the amount of people who file claims and the amount of overdraft fees charged to your Citizens bank account. Claim forms can be filed online or by mail. If you choose to mail your form please mail it to: Citizens Overdraft Settlement, P.O. Box 3410, Portland, OR 97208-3410. A user can go here to file the claim online or print a copy of the form. Any questions about the Citizens Bank Overdraft Settlement Lawsuit should be directed to the class counsel and not Citizens Bank.
