Maureen Harrold v. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. Frequently Asked Questions

The lawsuit that is being settled is entitled Maureen Harrold v. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. It is pending in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles, Case No. BC680214 (the "Action"). The case is a class action. That means that the Class Representative, Maureen Harrold, is an individual who is acting on behalf of Accountholders who were assessed certain Overdraft Fees called "APSN Fees" from October 19, 2013, through February 28, 2019. APSN Fees means Overdraft Fees that Union Bank charged and did not refund on debit card transactions, during the Class Period, where there was a positive available balance at the time the transaction was authorized, but an insufficient balance at the time the transaction was presented to the Bank for payment and posted to an Accountholder's Account. The Class Representative has asserted claims for breach of the Account Agreement, violations of the California Unfair Competition Law and California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and statutory fraud.

The First Amended Complaint in this Action is posted here and contains all of the allegations and claims asserted against Union Bank. The Bank maintains that it did nothing wrong but has agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the cost, delay, and uncertainty of litigation. The Court has not decided which side is right.

If you received Email Notice or Postcard Notice, then Union Bank's records indicated that you may be a Settlement Class Member and entitled to receive a payment or credit to your Account.

You have three options: (1) do nothing and you will receive a payment or account credit according to the terms of this Settlement; (2) opt-out of the Settlement; or (3) participate in the Settlement, but object to it. Each of these options is described in a separate section below.

If you do not wish to participate in the Settlement and be sent a payment or account credit and be bound by the Release, then you should opt-out. Likewise, if you believe that you could receive more money by pursuing your claims on your own (with or without an attorney that you could hire) and you are comfortable with the risk that you might lose your case or get less than you would in this Settlement, then you may want to consider opting out.

If you believe the Settlement is unreasonable, unfair, or inadequate, you can object to the Settlement terms. The Court will consider timely objections. The Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement and the award of attorneys' fees, litigation costs, an Incentive Award, and Settlement Administration Costs. If the Court decides not to approve the Settlement, then the Settlement will be void and no Settlement Class Member Payments or Account credits will be issued pursuant to its terms. If the Court approves the Settlement, whether or not it grants the application for attorneys' fees, litigation costs, an Incentive Award, or Settlement Administration Costs in full, then you will still be sent a Settlement Class Member Payment or receive an Account credit and will be bound by the Settlement, including the release of claims.

If you want to participate in the Settlement, then you do not have to do anything; you will be sent a payment or account credit if the Settlement is approved by the Court.

The Bank has agreed to create a Settlement Fund of $5,000,000.

As discussed separately below, attorneys' fees (not to exceed $1,666,650), litigation costs (not to exceed $60,458.10), and the Incentive Award of $10,000 to the Class Representative will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. Assuming all of those requested disbursements are approved in full by the Court, the Net Settlement Fund of $3,262,891.90 will be divided among all Settlement Class Members entitled to Settlement Class Member Payments based on a formula described in the Settlement and stated in response to Question 12 below.

Class Counsel will request the Court to approve attorneys' fees of up to $1,666,650 or 33.33% of the Settlement Fund and will request reimbursement for litigation costs incurred in filing and litigating the Action. Class Counsel will file an application to make this request no later than May 9, 2024. Subject to the Court's approval, the attorneys' fees will be split as follows: McCune Law Group and The Kirk Law Firm, APC will collectively receive 25% of the total attorneys' fees or their relative lodestar, whichever is greater; Tycko & Zavareei LLP and Kopelowitz Ostrow P.A. will each receive 40% of the remainder of the attorneys' fees; and KalielGold PLLC will receive the final 20% of the attorneys' fees. You will be able to access this application on this Settlement Website or by reviewing it by inserting the case number BC680214 on the Court's online docket. The Court will decide the amount of the attorneys' fees and costs based on a number of factors, including the risk associated with bringing the case on a contingency basis, the amount of time spent on the case, the amount of costs incurred to prosecute the case, the quality of the work, and the outcome of the case.

Class Counsel will request that the Class Representative be paid an Incentive Award in the amount of up to $10,000 for her filing and pursuit of the Action. The Incentive Award must be approved by the Court. Class Counsel will file the application for this request with the Court no later than May 9, 2024. You will be able to access this application on this Settlement Website or by reviewing it by inserting the case number BC680214 on the Court's online docket. 

The balance of the Settlement Fund after attorneys' fees and costs and the Incentive Award, also known as the Net Settlement Fund, will be divided among all Settlement Class Members entitled to Settlement Class Member Payments in accordance with the formula outlined in the Settlement and summarized below:

Assuming all requested disbursements from the Settlement Fund described above are approved in full, there will be a Net Settlement Fund of $3,262,891.90 that shall be paid pro rata to the Settlement Class Members using the following calculation: The dollar amount of the Net Settlement Fund divided by the total number of APSN Fees paid by all Settlement Class Members, which yields a per-fee amount; multiply the per-fee amount by the total number of APSN Fees for each Settlement Class Member; and this results in the individual Settlement Class Member Payment. The estimated average payment per Account is $40.16. It is important to note that this is an estimate, and the actual number may be different once the number of opt-outs are considered and if disbursements from the Settlement Fund are approved in different amounts.

Current Accountholders at the time the Settlement is effective and who are entitled to a Settlement Class Member Payment will receive a credit to their Accounts for the amount they are entitled to receive. Past Accountholders at the time the Settlement is effective and who are entitled to receive a Settlement Class Member Payment shall receive a check from the Settlement Administrator.

If you stay in the Settlement Class, all of the decisions by the Court will bind you, and you give the Bank a "release." A release means you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Bank about the legal issues in this case. As of the date when the Settlement Administrator sends you a check or the Bank credits your account, you shall automatically be deemed to have fully and irrevocably released and forever discharged the Bank of and from any and all liabilities, rights, claims, actions, causes of action, demands, damages, costs, attorneys' fees, losses and remedies, whether known or unknown, existing or potential, suspected or unsuspected, liquidated or unliquidated, legal, statutory, or equitable, based on contract, tort or any other theory, that result from, arise out of, are based upon, or relate to the conduct, omissions, duties or matters during the Class Period that were or could have been alleged in the Action relating to the assessment of APSN Fees.

Additional details, including a more extensive list of the Parties related to the Bank who will be released as part of the Settlement and regarding the scope of the release can be found in Section XII of the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement is available here.

No. If you are an Accountholder in the Settlement Class, then you may be entitled to receive a payment or credit for APSN Fees without having to make a claim, unless you choose to opt-out of the Settlement.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on July 25, 2024 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. to consider whether the Settlement should be approved. If the Court approves the Settlement, then payments should be made or credits should be issued within 60 days of the Effective Date. However, if someone objects to the Settlement, and the objection is sustained, then there may be no Settlement. Even if all objections are overruled and the Court approves the Settlement, an objector could appeal, and it might take months or even years to have the appeal resolved, which would delay any payment.

Any Residual Funds from uncashed checks remaining after the initial payments to Settlement Class Members, after reimbursing the Bank for the amount it paid for Settlement Administration Costs, will be distributed on a pro rata basis to participating Settlement Class Members who received Settlement Class Member Payments, to the extent feasible and practical in light of the costs of administering such subsequent payments, unless the amounts involved are too small to make individual distributions economically feasible or other specific reasons exist that would make such further distributions impossible or unfair.

Subject to Court approval, in the event the costs of preparing, transmitting and administering such subsequent payments to Settlement Class Members do not make individual distributions economically feasible or practical or other specific reasons exist that would make such further distributions impossible or unfair, or if such a second distribution is made and Residual Funds still remain, the total amount of uncashed checks will create a residual amount held by the Settlement Administrator which shall be paid to an appropriate cy pres recipient agreed to by the Parties and approved by the Court. The proposed cy pres recipient is California Jump$tart Coalition.

If you do not wish to participate in the Settlement and be bound by the Release, and you do not want to receive a payment or credit, or if you want to keep any right you may have to sue the Bank for the claims alleged in this lawsuit, then you must opt-out of the Settlement.

To opt-out, you must send a letter to the Settlement Administrator that you want to be excluded. Your letter can simply say "I hereby elect to be excluded from the settlement in the Maureen Harrold v. MUFG Union Bank class action." Be sure to include your name, the last four digits of your account number(s) or former account number(s), address, telephone number, and email address. Your exclusion or opt-out request must be postmarked by June 25, 2024 and sent to:

Harrold v. MUFG Union Bank

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration, LLC

PO Box 225391

New York, NY 10150-5391

If you opt-out of the Settlement, you will preserve and not give up any of your rights to sue the Bank for the claims alleged in this case. However, you will not be entitled to receive a payment or credit from the Settlement.

In the event an account has multiple Accountholders and one such individual opts-out of the Settlement, all of the Accountholders will be deemed to have opted-out of the Settlement.

You can object to the Settlement or any part of it that you do not like IF you do not opt-out of the Settlement. (Accountholders in the Settlement Class who opt-out have no right to object to how other Accountholders in the Settlement Class are treated.) To object, you may send a written document by mail or private courier (e.g., Federal Express) to the Settlement Administrator at the address below. Do not send your objection to the Court. Your written objection should include the following information:

a. the name of the Action

b. the objector's full name, address, and telephone number;

c. all grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection known to the objector or objector's counsel;

d. a statement confirming whether the objector or any counsel for the objector intends to personally appear and/or testify at the Final Approval Hearing (see Question 23 below); and

e. the objector's signature (an attorney's signature is not sufficient).

All written objections must be post-marked no later than June 25, 2024 and must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator as follows:

Harrold v. MUFG Union Bank

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration, LLC

PO Box 225391

New York, NY 10150-5391

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not believe the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate for the Settlement Class, and asking the Court to reject it. You can object only if you do not opt-out of the Settlement. If you object to the Settlement and do not opt-out, then you are entitled to a payment or credit from Net Settlement Fund if the Settlement is approved, but you will be bound by the release of claims you might have against the Bank.

Opting-out is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement, and do not want to receive a payment or credit for APSN Fees or release claims you might have against the Bank for the claims alleged in this lawsuit.

The Court will consider the objection. If the Court sustains your objection, or the objection of any other member of the Settlement Class, then there may be no Settlement; provided, however, that an objection to Class Counsel's requested attorneys' fees and costs or to the requested Incentive Award amount, may result in approval of the Settlement but the award of a lower attorneys' fee and cost amount or lower Incentive Award. If you object, but the Court overrules your objection and any other objection(s), then you will be part of the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, then the objector will participate in the Settlement. If the Court does not approve the Settlement, then there is no Settlement.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing at 10:00 AM Pacific Time on July 25, 2024 at the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, Spring Street Courthouse, which is located at 312 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, unless otherwise noticed by the Court. At this Final Approval Hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court may also decide how much to award Class Counsel for attorneys' fees and litigation costs and the amount of the Incentive Award to the Class Representative. The Final Approval Hearing may be virtual, in which case the instructions to participate shall be posted on this Settlement Website. Also, if the date and/or location of the Final Approval Hearing changes, that information will be posted to this Settlement Website. If the Final Approval Hearing is in-person, participants will be required to adhere to any Court-imposed social distancing requirements, including wearing a mask, if the Court has such a policy in effect on the date of the hearing. 

Notice of the final judgement of the Court will be given on this Settlement Website.

If you have objected, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must include with your written objection, described in Question 17 above, a statement like, "I hereby give notice that I intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing." The Court will consider your objection even if you do not appear.

No. Class Counsel will be paid directly from the Settlement Fund for the legal services provided to accomplish the Settlement for Settlement Class Members' benefit. Class Counsel's award of attorneys' fees and costs is deducted from the Settlement Fund, reducing that amount in calculating the Net Settlement Fund that Settlement Class Members will be paid.

The Court will be asked to approve the amount of attorneys' fees at the Final Approval Hearing. Class Counsel will file an application for attorneys' fees and costs before the Final Approval Hearing, which will specify the amounts being sought as discussed above. You may review a copy of the attorneys' fee and cost application on this website when it becomes available or by inserting the case number BC680214 on the Court's online docket.

This Settlement Website only summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are contained in the Settlement Agreement, which can be found here; in person at the Clerk of the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, which is located at Spring Street Courthouse, 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012; by contacting the Settlement Administrator (details below) and requesting a copy; or by inserting the case number BC680214 on the Court's online docket.

For additional information about the Settlement and/or to obtain a copy of the Settlement Agreement, or to change your address for purposes of receiving a Settlement Class Member Payment, you should contact the Settlement Administrator as follows:

Harrold v. MUFG Union Bank

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

PO Box 225391

New York, NY 10150-5391

For more information, you also can contact the Class Counsel as follows:

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR ANY REPRESENTATIVE OF U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION CONCERNING THIS NOTICE OR THE SETTLEMENT.