Bank of America Customers Advance Lawsuit Over Pandemic Fees

Bank of America Corp. failed to shake a potential class action alleging it made false promises about pandemic-era relief from bank fees.

The plaintiffs plausibly argued they expected to avoid fees for overdraft and nonsufficient funds based on Bank of America’s public statements promising relief, without realizing the programs would end in August 2020, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said in a Wednesday ruling.

“Plaintiffs have sufficiently pleaded that a reasonable consumer and average consumer would see BANA’s statement that it was helping ‘clients experiencing hardship from impacts of the coronavirus through [its] Client Assistance Program’ and assume that such a program existed,” Rogers wrote, allowing the plaintiffs’ second amended complaint to proceed.

Rogers dismissed the plaintiffs’ initial complaint in June 2022, but gave them the chance to file an amended complaint. Plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint in November 2023.

“We are pleased that the Court rejected Bank of America’s third attempt to dismiss this important case and look forward to vindicating the economic rights of our clients and consumers nationwide,” Andrea Gold, a partner with Tycko & Zavareei LLP representing the plaintiffs, said in an emailed statement.

Bank of America didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lead plaintiff in the case, Anthony Ramirez of California, sued Bank of America in February 2022 alleging that the bank’s website, advertising, and statements to the press promised fee refunds if customers could prove economic hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ramirez, a truck driver, incurred $245 in fees when he overdrew his account in August 2021 after a cut to his work hours, according to court filings.

Fees for nonsufficient funds fees can total $35 each time a customer doesn’t have enough money in their account and a charge is rejected. Overdraft fees can also be around $35 each time a customer overdraws their account, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America stopped charging NSF fees entirely and reduced its overdraft fees to $10 from $35, among a host of other consumer-friendly changes, in May 2022.

The CFPB has proposed industrywide limits on NSF and overdraft fees that it says would save consumers billions each year.

Tycko & Zavareei LLP represent the plaintiffs. O’Melveny & Myers LLP represents Bank of America.

The case is Ramirez v. Bank of America N.A., N.D. Cal., No. 4:22-cv-00859, Order Denying Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss 4/3/24