Overdraft Fees
Florence Bank $390,881 Overdraft & NSF Fee Settlement
Last updated from the official settlement website (sullivanfeessettlement.com). Re-checked .
Florence Bank customers charged retry NSF fees or overdraft fees on approved debit card buys from 2018 to 2024 get paid automatically. No claim form.
Who qualifies and how to claim
What you could get
- $100A customer who paid $100 in challenged fees receives twice as much as one who paid $50.
Pulled from the write-up below. The official settlement website and the court's documents have the final word.
Bank Fees · Pending — Automatic Payment
Current Status
The settlement has been preliminarily approved by the Hampshire County Superior Court in Massachusetts, and the final approval hearing is set for December 15, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. There is no claim form: if the court approves the settlement, eligible customers will receive an account credit or a check automatically. The only deadline is December 12, 2026, the postmark date for objections. No payments have been made yet.
Read the full details
What Is the Settlement About?
Florence Bank, a Massachusetts community bank based in Florence, agreed to pay $390,881 to settle Sullivan, et al. v. Florence Bank, a class action filed April 12, 2024 in Hampshire County Superior Court. The plaintiffs alleged the bank charged two kinds of fees improperly, and brought claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and, in an amended complaint, violation of the Massachusetts consumer protection law, Chapter 93A.
The first fee type is a retry fee: a second NSF or overdraft fee charged when a merchant re-submitted an electronic (ACH) payment that had already bounced. The second is an APSN fee, short for “authorize positive, settle negative”: an overdraft fee on a debit card purchase that was approved while the account had enough money, but posted after the balance had fallen below zero. Florence Bank denies any wrongdoing and says the fees were charged properly under its account agreements; it agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of litigation.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement covers two groups of Florence Bank personal and business checking account holders:
- Retry Class: account holders charged one or more retry fees from April 12, 2018 through February 12, 2024, the date the bank stopped charging them.
- APSN Class: account holders charged one or more APSN overdraft fees from April 12, 2018 through June 5, 2023, the date the bank stopped charging them.
A customer can be in one or both classes. Membership is determined from Florence Bank’s transaction records, analyzed by the data consultant Ankura, rather than by anything customers submit. Customers who received an email or postcard notice are, according to the notice, class members. All authorized holders of a single account are treated as one class member. Bank officers, directors, employees and affiliates, and the judges on the case, are excluded.
How Much Can You Get?
The $390,881 fund first pays attorneys’ fees of up to one-third of the fund plus expenses, service awards of up to $5,000 to each of the three class representatives, and notice and administration costs. The rest is split pro rata: each class member’s share equals the challenged fees that member paid divided by the total challenged fees paid by everyone, times the net fund. A customer who paid $100 in challenged fees receives twice as much as one who paid $50. The notice says no one will receive more than the challenged fees they paid, and most are likely to receive less.
Customers whose Florence Bank account is still open receive a credit to that account. Customers whose account has closed are mailed a check, which expires 180 days after it is issued. Money from uncashed checks is redistributed to class members who cashed theirs or received a credit, if that is economically feasible; anything left after that goes to the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee.
Is Proof Required?
No. This is an automatic-payment settlement: there is no claim form, receipt or notice ID to submit. Payments are calculated from Florence Bank’s own records of the fees each account was charged. The notice asks class members whose mailing address has changed to update it with the settlement administrator through the official settlement website so a check can reach them.
Documents & history
The public record, word for word. Every line below is what the court or the settlement administrator published; we only add short notes on what each item means. The original document has the final word, and it is always one click away.
The story so far
Claims are open until Dec 12, 2026, 41 days left. The final approval hearing is on Dec 15, 2026.
- Next
- Claim deadline Dec 12, 2026 · in 6 weeks
Below is every step on record. The key moments come first; tap one to read about it, or pick a filter to see more. Read the graph left to right: each line is one place where things happen, the 0 court cases and the settlement’s website, and the big labelled marks are the moments that matter. Tap one to read about it. Puzzled by a word? See court words, in plain English.
- A decision by the judge
- A date to know
- Money paid out
- A request to the judge
- Paperwork or an update
- Still to come
Coming up 2
- DeadlineDeadline coming up
Deadline (no claim form needed)
- HearingCourt hearing scheduled
Final approval hearing
April 2024 1 event
- UpdateUpdate from the settlement
Lawsuit filed
Nothing of this kind in the list.
Court filings come from the court's public docket through the free RECAP archive; official documents from the settlement administrator's own site. Other dates come from the official settlement site and the summary above. We show the record as published and do not interpret it for your case. Nothing here is legal advice.
Where this information comes from
- Official settlement websitesullivanfeessettlement.com
Court words, in plain English What words like “motion” or “docket” mean. You never need them to file a claim.
- Attorneys’ fees money
What the lawyers for the group ask to be paid for bringing the case. It comes out of the settlement fund, and the judge decides the amount, often less than asked.
For example: The lawyers asked for a quarter of the fund in attorneys’ fees; the judge decides how much they get.
- Claim form what you fill in
The form you send to get your share of the settlement, online or by mail. Filing one is free.
For example: Send the claim form before the deadline, or you may not be paid.
- Class member you, probably
Anyone who fits the group the settlement covers. If you qualify, you are a class member, even if you never heard of the case before.
For example: If you bought the product during the years the notice lists, you are likely a class member.
- Class certification a decision
The judge agreeing that one case can speak for a whole group of people in the same situation.
For example: After class certification, the case went ahead for all the customers, not only the two who sued.
- Docket /DOK-it/ the court’s record
The court’s diary for a case: a numbered list of every paper filed and every step taken, in order.
For example: The judge’s order was added to the docket on May 20.
- ECF number /E-C-F/ a page number
ECF is the courts’ online filing system (Electronic Case Filing). "ECF 233" is item 233 on the case’s docket; "ECF 213-1" is the first attachment to item 213.
For example: A settlement agreement filed as ECF 251 is the 251st item on that case’s docket.
- Final approval hearing a date
Also called the fairness hearing: the day the judge listens to anyone with concerns, then decides whether the settlement is approved for good.
For example: The final approval hearing is usually the last big date before payments go out.
- Motion a request
A formal "please" to the judge: one side asks for something, like more time or approval of the deal. Nothing changes until the judge answers.
For example: The lawyers filed a motion to extend the claim deadline.
- Object /ob-JECT/ your choice
Staying in the settlement but telling the judge what you think should be better. You can still be paid.
For example: If you think the fees are too high, you can object before the deadline.
- Opt out your choice
Choosing to leave the settlement. You get nothing from it, but you keep your right to bring your own case.
For example: If you opt out, you will not get a payment from this settlement.
- Order a decision
The judge’s answer, and the part that counts. "Granted" means yes, "denied" means no, "granted in part" means yes to some of it.
For example: An order granting the motion means the judge said yes.
- Preliminary approval /pre-LIM-in-airy/ a decision
The judge’s first "this looks fair enough to move ahead". Notices go out and claims open, but it is not the final say.
For example: After preliminary approval in June, the claim form went online.
- RECAP /REE-cap/ a source
A free public library of federal court papers run by the non-profit Free Law Project. The court documents on this page link to its copies.
For example: We found the judge’s order in the RECAP archive.
- Service award money
A small thank-you payment to the people who brought the case on everyone’s behalf (the class representatives). It comes from the fund and the judge decides it.
For example: The two people who started the case each asked the judge for a service award.
- Settlement administrator a company
The company that runs the claims for the court: it sends the notices, checks the claims and mails the payments. Questions about your claim go to them.
For example: The settlement administrator mails the checks once the judge approves the deal.
- Unopposed /un-uh-POZED/ a word in requests
Both sides agree on the request, so it usually goes through smoothly.
For example: An unopposed motion to move a deadline is almost always granted.