WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ —
Used An ATM Card And Were Assessed A Surcharge?
You Could Get Money From a $197.5 Million Class Action Settlement.
A new class action Settlement has been reached in a lawsuit claiming Defendants violated federal antitrust laws by adopting restraints that inflated the automated teller machine (“ATM”) surcharges (also called ATM access fees) that some people and businesses paid. The Defendants deny these allegations. The Court has not decided who is right.
Previously, settlements with JPMorgan & Chase Co. (“JP Morgan”); Wells Fargo & Co. and Wells Fargo Bank (“Wells Fargo”); and Bank of America, N.A., NB Holdings Corp., and Bank of America Corp. (“Bank of America”) resulted in payments of approximately $67 million to eligible class members in June 2023.
Now, the remaining Defendants in this case, Visa Inc., Visa U.S.A. Inc., Visa International Service Association, Plus System, Inc. (“Visa”) and Mastercard Incorporated and Mastercard International Incorporated (“Mastercard”) have agreed to a Settlement to resolve the claims against them.
What are the related lawsuits?
This notice is about the case known as Mackmin v. Visa Inc., No. 1:11-cv-01831 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. There are two related (or parallel) lawsuits in the same court called Burke v. Visa Inc., No. 1:11-cv-01882 and National ATM Council v. Visa Inc., No. 1:11-cv-01803 that are proceeding at the same time. Each case involves different groups with similar claims against the Defendants. Potential Settlement Class Members may receive other notices if they are included in more than one lawsuit. The choices Potential Settlement Class Members make in this case will not affect their rights in the other related lawsuits.
Who is included?
Generally, an individual is a Potential Settlement Class Member if, at any time between October 1, 2007, and July 26, 2024, they paid a surcharge to withdraw cash from a bank ATM in the United States. They are not included if all of their surcharged ATM transactions were (a) reimbursed or (b) conducted on cards issued by financial institutions located outside of the United States. Visit the website, www.ATMClassAction.com, for more information and the exact Settlement Class definition.
What does the Settlement provide?
The new Settlements provide for a total of $197.5 million to resolve the claims. Visa will pay $104,675,000 and Mastercard will pay $92,825,000 into a Settlement Fund. After deductions for attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, and other expenses, the Settlement Fund will be distributed proportionally (or pro rata) to each valid claimant. Any money remaining in the Settlement Fund after all claims are paid will be directed to a court-approved “next best” recipient.
How can one get payment?
Potential Settlement Class Members who filed a claim and received a payment in the previous settlements will automatically be eligible to get a payment from these Settlements with Visa and Mastercard and should not submit another claim unless Potential Settlement Class Members paid, and wish to claim, additional ATM surcharges that were paid after submitting their prior approved claim.
If a valid claim was not previously filed, then a Claim Form must be submitted to receive money from this Settlement. The Claim Form asks Potential Settlement Class Members to state under oath that ATM surcharges were assessed. It is not required to provide documentation with the Claim Form, but the Settlement Administrator has the right to ask claimants to provide bank statements or other documents to support a claim.
Visit www.ATMClassAction.com/claims to fill out a Claim Form online or download one that can be mailed. To be eligible for payment, Claim Forms must be submitted electronically or postmarked no later than January 22, 2025.
What are one’s rights?
If someone is a Settlement Class Member, even if they do nothing, they will be bound by the Court’s decisions and judgments concerning this Settlement.
If they want to keep their right to sue Visa or Mastercard regarding the claims in this lawsuit, then they must exclude themselves from the Settlement Class in writing by November 22, 2024. If someone previously submitted a request to be excluded from the prior settlements in 2022, and do not want to stay in the Settlement with Visa and Mastercard, then they need to separately exclude themselves from this Settlement Class.
If staying in the Settlement Class, there is the right to object to the Settlement in writing by November 22, 2024. The Settlement Agreement and more details about how to be excluded or object are available at www.ATMClassAction.com.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is scheduled to hold a hearing on January 23, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., at 333 Constitution Avenue N.W., Courtroom 18, Washington, D.C. 20001, to consider whether to approve the Settlement with Visa and Mastercard.
Class Lead Counsel will also ask the Court at the hearing, or at a later date, for attorneys’ fees of up to 33% of the Settlement Fund, plus reimbursement of costs and expenses, for investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the Settlement and service award payments up to $10,000 for each of the individual Class Representatives.
You or your own lawyer may appear and speak at the hearing at your own expense, but you don’t have to. The hearing may be conducted electronically or moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check www.ATMClassAction.com for additional information. Please do not contact the Court about this case.
For more information: 1-877-311-3724 www.ATMClassAction.com
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SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Quinn Emanuel Urqhart & Sullivan, LLP and Mehri & Skalet, PLLC
