CEI Objects to Bank of America Class Action Settlement

The Competitive Enterprise Institute objected on behalf of a class member in Farrell v. Bank of America, a class action in which plaintiffs’ counsel sought attorneys’ fees that would compensate them at rates of over $7700 per hour of time they spent working on the case.

“Class counsel settled away class members’ claims for less than 10 percent of their alleged value and yet are asking the court to award them fees that are over 11 times the alleged lodestar,” said Ted Frank, CEI Director of Litigation. “No attorney should be paid over $7700 per hour of work for such lackluster results.”

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 recover less than 10 percent of the potential value of their claims. On behalf of a class member, CCAF is objecting to the windfall fees requested by class counsel.​

See more about the case here.