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Customers whom Equity Bank charged certain overdraft or nonsufficient funds fees between 2017 and 2025 may be eligible to receive a cash payment, account credit or unpaid fee forgiveness from a class action settlement.
Equity Bank agreed to pay $1 million to resolve a class action lawsuit claiming it improperly assessed specific fees on customer accounts. Additionally, the settlement includes at least $225,000 in forgiveness for fees the bank charged but did not collect and the value of changes to the bank’s fee practices, which it estimates at an additional $540,000.
Who are the class members?
Class members must have had a checking account with Equity Bank and received charges for at least one of the following types of fees during the specified periods:
- APSN fees: Overdraft fees on debit card transactions authorized on a sufficient available balance and settled in the authorized amount
- Retry fees: Overdraft or nonsufficient funds fees on the second or third presentment of what plaintiffs allege to be the same item that a merchant previously returned for insufficient funds
- Sufficient funds fees: Overdraft fees charged on a day when the customer did not overdraw on the end-of-the-day balance
The relevant time periods for each fee type are:
- APSN fees: Jan. 1, 2017, to Dec. 7, 2019, and Nov. 8, 2020, to Sept. 1, 2024
- Retry fees: Feb. 22, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2023
- Sufficient funds fees: Feb. 2, 2017, to Nov. 21, 2025
Individuals who received a notice by email or postcard about this settlement are likely class members. The settlement administrator used Equity Bank’s records to identify affected customers.
How much can class members receive?
Class members can receive compensation in the form of a cash payment, account credit or unpaid fee forgiveness. The total settlement fund is $1,000,000, which the administrator will distribute after deducting attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, service awards to the class representatives and settlement administration costs.
The settlement administrator will determine the amount each class member receives on a pro rata basis, meaning it will base each class member's share on the total amount of challenged fees they paid compared to the total all class members paid. It will use the formula individual payment = (challenged fees paid / total challenged fees all class members paid) x net settlement fund.
Class members cannot receive more than the amount of challenged fees they paid, and the actual amount they receive may be less than they paid depending on the number of eligible class members and the deductions for fees and costs.
- Cash payment or account credit: Proportional to the amount of challenged fees paid
- Forgiveness of unpaid challenged fees: Equity bank will forgive up to $225,000 in total
No claim form needed to receive payment
Class members do not need to file a claim to receive compensation. The settlement administrator will automatically issue payments or credits if the court grants final approval to the settlement.
Class members whose address has changed should contact the settlement administrator to update their information to ensure they receive payment or credit.
Settlement administrator's mailing address: Merrell v. Equity Bank Exclusions, P.O. Box 301130, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1130
Settlement administrator's phone number: 888-808-7281
Settlement administrator's email address: admin@MerrellFeesSettlement.com
Payout options
- Current account holders will receive an account credit.
- Former account holders will receive a check mailed to their last known address.
- For those with unpaid challenged fees, Equity Bank may forgive the amount.
$1 million settlement fund breakdown
The $1,000,000 settlement fund covers:
- Settlement administration costs: Not specified
- Attorneys' fees: Up to $588,333
- Attorneys' costs: To be determined
- Service awards to class representatives: Up to $10,000 per representative account (up to $30,000 total)
- Payments to eligible class members: Remainder of the fund
Important dates
- Deadline to opt out: June 7, 2026
- Fairness hearing: June 29, 2026
When is the Merrell v. Equity Bank payout date?
The settlement administrator will distribute payments or credits after the court resolves any appeals and grants final approval to the settlement.
Why is there a class action settlement?
The class action lawsuit alleged Equity Bank improperly charged certain overdraft and nonsufficient funds fees, including fees on transactions authorized on sufficient funds, repeated fees on the same transaction and fees when customers did not actually overdraw their accounts.
Equity Bank denied any wrongdoing but agreed to settle to avoid the cost and uncertainty of litigation.
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