Farrell v. Bank of America, N.A.

In this class action plaintiffs alleged that the extended overdrawn balance charges that Bank of America, N.A. charged on consumer checking accounts violated the usury provision of the National Bank Act. Under the settlement, class members–those who were charged an EOBC that was not refunded during the class period–will receive a pro rata share of the $37.5 million cash fund or, if their account was closed with a negative balance, “debt reduction” up to $35 at a collective value of $29.1 million. Class counsel sought attorneys’ fees of $16.6 million.

Their lodestar, however, is only $1.4 million, meaning that they are requesting more than 11 times the value of the time they spent working on the case. At the same time, class members recover less than 10% of the value of their claims. On behalf of a class member, CCAF is objecting to the windfall fees requested by class counsel.