Judge OKs $410M settlement for Bank of America

[marmar]

MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge on Monday gave final approval to a $410 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit affecting more than 13 million Bank of America customers who had debit card overdrafts during the past decade.

Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King said the agreement was fair and reasonable, even though it drew criticism from some customers because they would only receive a fraction of what they paid in overdraft fees. The fees were usually $35 per occurrence.

"It's really undisputed that this is one of the largest settlements ever in a consumer case," said Aaron Podhurst, a lead attorney for the customer class.

The settlement became final a week after Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America backed off a plan to charge a $5 monthly fee for debit-card purchases. The outcry prompted other major banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., to cancel trial tests of their own debit card fees. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-oks-410m-settlement-bank-america-214423478.html

[ParkieDem]

1. Great.

Consumers got a pittance, while their so-called attorney "advocates" get millions.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. Not a bad deal for BofA. Steal $4.5 Billion pay back $410 million.

Out of that, the attorneys get $123 million.

The bank customers, who lost an average of $300 dollars, get $27 each.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. *sigh*

[Scuba]

5. Yeah, they're better at math than ethics. n/t

[DaveJ]

3. A Win for BofA - They net $4 Billion - Bonus time!

They are now scheming ever newer ways to extract money from the poor. This proves they can still make a profit even when they lose lawsuits against them.