Frequently Asked Questions

The lawsuit that is being settled is entitled Couch v. HomeBank.  It is pending in the Circuit Court of Marion County, Missouri, District 1, Palmyra, Missouri, Case No. 23MM-CV00074.  The case is a “Class Action.” That means that the “Class Representative,” Sheryl Couch, is an individual who is acting on behalf of current and former customers who were assessed certain Overdraft fees (“Challenged Fees”) between January 13, 2018 to July 3, 2024. The Class Representative has asserted a claim for breach of the Account agreement and unjust enrichment.

Defendant does not deny it charged the fees the Class Representative is complaining about, but contends it did so properly and in accordance with the terms of its agreements and applicable law. Defendant therefore denies that its practices give rise to claims for damages by the Class Representative or any Settlement Class Members.

You received a postcard or email Notice because Defendant’s records indicate that you were charged one or more Challenged Fees that are the subject of this action. The Court directed that Notice be sent to all Settlement Class Members because each such member has a right to know about the proposed Settlement and the options available to them before the Court decides whether to approve the Settlement.  

In any lawsuit, there are risks and potential benefits that come with a trial versus settling at an earlier stage. It is the Class Representative’s and their lawyers’ job to identify when a proposed Settlement offer is good enough that it justifies recommending settling the case instead of continuing to trial.  In a class action, the Class Representative’s lawyers, known as Class Counsel, make this recommendation to the Class Representative. The Class Representative has the duty to act in the best interests of the class as a whole and, in this case, it is her belief, as well as Class Counsels’ opinion, that this Settlement is in the best interest of all Settlement Class Members.

There is legal uncertainty about whether a judge or a jury will find that Defendant was contractually and otherwise legally obligated not to assess the fees at issue.  And even if it was contractually wrong to assess these fees, there is uncertainty about whether the Class Representative’s claims are subject to other defenses that might result in no or less recovery to Settlement Class Members. Even if the Class Representative were to win at trial, there is no assurance that the Settlement Class Members would be awarded more than the current Settlement amount, and it may take years of litigation before any payments would be made. By settling, the Settlement Class Members will avoid these and other risks and the delays associated with continued litigation.

While Defendant disputes the allegations in the lawsuit and denies any liability or wrongdoing, it enters into the Settlement solely to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and distraction of further proceedings in the litigation. 

If you received a notice, then Defendant’s records indicate that you are a member of the Settlement Class who is entitled to receive a payment or credit to your Account.

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

There is no deadline to receive a payment.  If you do nothing, then you will get a payment. 

The deadline for sending a letter to exclude yourself from or opt out of the Settlement is October 14, 2024.

The deadline to file an objection with the Court is also October 14, 2024.

If you do not like the Settlement and 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 and the Court should reject the Settlement, you can object to the Settlement terms. The Court will decide if your objection is valid.  If the Court agrees, then the Settlement may not be approved and no payments will be made to you or any other member of the Class. If your objection is (and any other objections are) overruled and the Settlement is approved, then you may still get a payment and will be bound by the Settlement.

If you want to participate in the Settlement, then you don’t have to do anything. You will receive a payment if the Settlement is approved by the Court. 

The Court has to decide that the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate before it will approve it. The Court already has decided to provide Preliminary Approval of the Settlement, which is why you received a Notice. The Court will make a final decision regarding the Settlement at a “Fairness Hearing” or “Final Approval Hearing,” which is currently scheduled for December 4, 2024.

Defendant has agreed to create a Settlement Fund of $200,000.00.

As discussed separately below, attorneys’ fees and litigation costs will be paid out of the Settlement Fund.  The Net Settlement Fund will be divided among all Settlement Class Members entitled to Settlement Class Member Payments based on formulas described in the Settlement Agreement. 

Class Counsel has prosecuted this litigation on a contingent basis and has incurred or advanced all costs, expenses, and attorneys’ fees associated with the lawsuit since their investigation of claims against HomeBank began in 2023. Class Counsel has not been paid for their work or received reimbursement for the expenses they have incurred or advanced for the Class Representative and Settlement Class Members. Class Counsel will request the Court to approve attorneys’ fees of not more than 33.33% of the Value of the Settlement and will request that it be reimbursed for litigation costs incurred in prosecuting the case. The fees and expenses would pay Class Counsel for investigating the facts, litigating the case, negotiating the Settlement, and paying the costs to administer the Settlement.

Class Counsel will request that the Class Representative be paid a Service Award in the amount of $5,000.00 for her work in connection with this case. The Service Award must be approved by the Court.  

The balance of the Settlement Fund after attorneys’ fees and costs and the Service 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 formulas outlined in the Settlement Agreement. Current customers of Defendant will receive a credit to their Accounts for the amount they are entitled to receive. Former customers of Defendant shall receive a check from the Settlement Administrator.

No. If you received this Notice, then you may be entitled to receive a payment for a Challenged Fee without having to make a claim, unless you choose to exclude yourself from the Settlement or “opt out.”

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on December 4, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. to consider whether the Settlement should be approved. If the Court approves the Settlement, then payments should be made or credits should be issued approximately 45 days later. However, if someone objects to the Settlement, and the objection is sustained, then there is 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. 

If you do not want to receive a payment or if you want to keep any right you may have to sue Defendant for the claims alleged in this lawsuit, then you must exclude yourself, or “opt out.”

To opt out, you must send a letter to the Settlement Administrator that you want to be excluded. Your letter can simply read, “I hereby elect to be excluded from the Settlement in the Couch v. HomeBank 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 October 14, 2024, and sent to:

Couch v. HomeBank Settlement Administrator

P.O. Box 301130

Los Angeles, CA 90030-1130

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

You can object to the Settlement or any part of it that you do not like IF you do not exclude yourself, or opt out, from the Settlement.  (Settlement Class Members who exclude themselves from the Settlement have no right to object to how other Settlement Class Members are treated.) To object, you must send a written document by mail or private courier (e.g., Federal Express) to the Settlement Administrator at the address below.  Your objection must 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.             the number of times the objector has objected to a class action Settlement within the five years preceding the date that the objector files the objection, the caption of each case in which the objector has made such objection, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon the objector’s prior objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case;

e.             the identity of all counsel who represent the objector, including any former or current counsel who may be entitled to compensation for any reason related to the objection to the Settlement or fee application;

f.             the number of times in which the objector’s counsel and/or counsel’s law firm have objected to a class action Settlement within the five years preceding the date of the filed objection, the caption of each case in which counsel or the firm has made such objection and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon counsel’s or counsel’s law firm’s prior objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case in which the objector’s counsel and/or counsel’s law firm have objected to a class action Settlement within the preceding five years;

g.             any and all agreements that relate to the objection or the process of objecting—whether written or oral—between objector or objector’s counsel and any other person or entity;

h.             the identity of all counsel (if any) representing the objector who will appear at the Final Approval Hearing;

i.              a list of all persons who will be called to testify at the Final Approval Hearing in support of the objection;

j.              a statement confirming whether the objector intends to personally appear and/or testify at the Final Approval Hearing; and

k.             the objector’s signature (an attorney’s signature is not sufficient).

All objections must be postmarked no later than October 14, 2024, and must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator as follows:

Couch v. HomeBank Settlement Administrator

P.O. Box 301130

Los Angeles, CA 90030-1130

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not believe the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate for the Settlement Class and you are 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 for a Challenged Fee if the Settlement is approved, but you will release claims you might have against Defendant. Excluding yourself or opting out is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement, and you do not want to receive a payment for a Challenged Fee or release claims you might have against Defendant for the claims alleged in this lawsuit.  

If the Court sustains your objection or the objection of any other member of the Settlement Class, then there is no Settlement. If you object, but the Court overrules your objection and any other objection(s), then you will be part of the Settlement.  

The Court will hold a Final Approval or Fairness Hearing at 9:30 a.m. on December 4, 2024 at the Circuit Court of Marion County, Missouri, District 1, Palmyra, Missouri, which is located at 100 S. Main St., Palmyra, MO 63461. At this 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 Service Award to the Class Representative. The hearing may be virtual, in which case the instructions to participate shall be posted on the website at www.CouchOverdraftFees.com.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. You may attend if you desire to do so. If you have submitted an objection, then you may want to attend. 

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 objection, as described in Question 17 above, the statement: “I hereby give notice that I intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing.” 

No. Class Counsel will be paid directly from the Settlement Fund.  

The Court will be asked to approve the amount of attorneys’ fees at the Fairness Hearing. Class Counsel will file an application for attorneys’ fees and costs and will specify the amount being sought as discussed above. You may review a physical copy of the fee application at the website established by the Settlement Administrator or by requesting the court record online from the Circuit Court of Marion County, Missouri, District 1 at 100 S. Main St., Ste. 207, P.O. Box 431, Palmyra, MO  63461; Tel.: (573) 769-2550,
Email: [email protected] or obtaining a copy online at https://www.courts.mo.gov/cnet/cases/newHeader.do?inputVO.caseNumber=23MM-CV00074&inputVO.courtId=SMPDB0004_CT10 .

GETTING MORE INFORMATION

This Notice only summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are contained in the Settlement Agreement, which can be viewed/obtained online at www.CouchOverdraftFees.com or at the Clerk’s Office for Circuit Court of Marion County, Missouri,
District 1, Palmyra, Missouri, which is located at 100 S. Main St., Ste. 207, P.O. Box 431, Palmyra, MO 63461; Tel.: (573) 769-2550,
Email: [email protected] by asking for the Court file containing the Motion For Preliminary Approval of Class Settlement (the Settlement Agreement is attached to the motion) or obtaining a copy online at: 

https://www.courts.mo.gov/cnet/cases/newHeader.do?inputVO.caseNumber=23MM-CV00074&inputVO.courtId=SMPDB0004_CT10 

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

Couch v. HomeBank Settlement Administrator

P.O. Box 301130

Los Angeles, CA 90030-1130

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

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR ANY REPRESENTATIVE OF DEFENDANT CONCERNING THIS NOTICE OR THE SETTLEMENT.