Churchill v. Bangor Settlement

Individuals identified as Settlement Class Members that did not exclude themselves from the Settlement were automatically entitled to a pro rata share of the Net Settlement Fund pursuant to the terms of the Settlement.

Settlement Class Members who are current customers of Bangor Savings Bank received a credit to their Bangor Savings Bank accounts for the amount they are entitled from the Settlement Fund in March 2023. Settlement Class Members who are former customers of Bangor Savings Bank received a check for the amount they are entitled from the Settlement Fund in March 2023.

If you need to have your Settlement Award Check reissued, please write to the Settlement Administrator and include the original Settlement Award Check at following address:

Churchill v. Bangor Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 5357
Portland, OR 97228-5357

All requests must include your full name, return address, and signature.

For reasons of security, a check reissue cannot take place until either the original check is received back by us, a mailing has been returned to us as undeliverable, or the original stale date of the check has passed or expired.

The Maine Business and Consumer Court authorized the mailing of the Notice to inform you about the proposed Settlement and your rights and options prior to the time when the Court decides whether to grant final approval of the Settlement. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, the benefits that are available, who is eligible for those benefits, and how to acquire them.

The case is known as Ethan Churchill, et al. v. Bangor Savings Bank, Case No. BCD-CIV-2021-00027 (the “Action”). The Hon. Michael A Duddy is overseeing this class action. The people who filed this lawsuit are called the “Plaintiffs” and the entity they sued, Bangor Savings Bank, is called the “Defendant.”

A copy of the Notice can be found here.

The Plaintiffs alleged that people with accounts with Bangor Savings Bank were improperly charged overdraft fees and/or non-sufficient funds fees on (i) ACH transactions that were resubmitted by a merchant after the initial request for payment was declined (“Retry Claims”), and/or (ii) debit card transactions that were authorized with a positive account balance and settled with a negative account balance (“APPSN Claims”). The Plaintiffs claimed that this conduct breached Bangor Savings Bank’s account agreement with customers. The Defendant denies these and all other claims made in the Action. By entering into the Settlement, the Defendant is not admitting that it did anything wrong.

In a class action, one or more people, called the Settlement Class Representatives, sue on behalf of all people who have similar claims. Together, all of these people are called a Settlement Class or Settlement Class Members. One court resolves all of the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those Settlement Class Members who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Settlement Class Representatives and the Defendant do not agree about the claims made in this Action. The Action has not gone to trial and the Court has not decided in favor of either the Settlement Class Representatives or the Defendant. Instead, the Settlement Class Representatives and the Defendant have agreed to settle the Action. The Settlement Class Representatives and their lawyers believe the Settlement is in the best interest of all Settlement Class Members because of the risks associated with continued litigation, the prolonged nature of litigation, and the defenses raised by the Defendant. The Defendant denies that it did anything wrong and believes that its defenses to the claims would succeed, but the Defendant nevertheless has agreed to settle this Action to avoid the burden, expense, risk, and uncertainty of continuing the litigation.

You received a Notice because the Defendant’s records indicate that you are a Settlement Class Member. You are included in the Settlement Class as a “Settlement Class Member” if you have or had an account with Bangor Savings Bank and were charged overdraft fees and/or non-sufficient funds fees on (i) ACH transactions that were resubmitted by a merchant after the initial request for payment was declined, and/or (ii) debit card transactions that were authorized with a positive account balance and settled with a negative account balance, between March 1, 2017, and June 6, 2022.

The Defendant has agreed to pay a total Settlement Amount of $2,000,000. The Settlement Amount will be distributed to Settlement Class Members after deducting the cost of settlement administration and taxes, any court-approved attorneys’ fees and costs, and any service awards made to the Settlement Class Representatives.

Your share of the Settlement Amount will depend on, among other things: (i) the number of fees that you paid; (ii) the amount of settlement administration costs, including the costs of notice; (iii) the amount awarded by the Court for attorneys’ fees and costs and as service awards to the Settlement Class Representatives; and (iv) the number of Class Members who exclude themselves from the Class.

Now that the Settlement is approved, you will receive a Settlement payment in one of three ways within 60 days of the date that the Settlement becomes effective. (1) If the account on which the relevant fee(s) was (were) assessed is still active, you will receive a direct deposit to that account, or, if a direct deposit to that account is not feasible, you will receive a check that will be mailed to the same address as the Notice. (2) If the account on which the relevant fee(s) was (were) assessed is no longer active, and was not charged off with an outstanding balance, you will receive a check that will be mailed to the same address as the Notice. (3) If your account has been charged off with an outstanding balance, you will receive a reduction to the outstanding balance. If you move before you receive your Settlement payment, you will need to notify the Settlement Administrator in writing of your new address.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you did not exclude yourself, you chose to remain in the Class. Now that the Settlement has received Final Approval, all of the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you. You won’t be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant and/or the Released Parties about the legal issues released by the Settlement.

The specific rights you are giving up are called Released Claims (see FAQ 11).

The Released Parties are Bangor Savings Bank, and each of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, attorneys, shareholders, agents, assigns, and third-party suppliers and vendors.

The Released Claims are any claim, right, demand, charge, suit, matter, damage, loss, complaint, action, cause of action, obligation, or liability of any and every kind and description, from the beginning of the world until today, that arises out of common law, state law, or federal law, whether by Constitution, statute, contract, common law, or equity, whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, asserted or unasserted, apparent or unapparent, matured or unmatured, disclosed or undisclosed, accrued or unaccrued, latent or patent, foreseen or unforeseen, actual or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, that were or could have been asserted in the Action, or which could be raised in the future, in any court, tribunal, forum, or proceeding, arising out of, are in connection with, or relating in any way to the allegations made in the Action or the underlying facts and circumstances concerning the Retry Claims and the APPSN Claims, including, but not limited to, any claims or defenses concerning the Retry Claims and the APPSN Claims, and any violation and/or alleged violation of state and/or federal law, whether common law or statutory, arising from, relating to, or in connection with the Retry Claims and APPSN Claims.

Yes. The Court has appointed Berman & Simmons, P.A. and Kaliel Gold PLLC as Settlement Class Counsel to represent Settlement Class Members for the purposes of this Settlement. You may hire your own lawyer at your own cost and expense if you want someone other than Settlement Class Counsel to represent you in this Action.

The Court has agreed to award Settlement Class Counsel a portion of the Settlement Amount for attorneys’ fees and for reimbursement of costs. You can find more information in the Final Approval Order here.

The Court has agreed to award a portion of the Settlement Amount for service awards to the Settlement Class Representatives. You can find more information in the Final Approval Order here.

The deadline to exclude yourself from, or opt out of, this Settlement was November 22, 2022.

No. If you exclude yourself, you are telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Settlement. You will only receive a Settlement payment if you stayed in the Settlement.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue the Defendant or the Released Parties for the claims that this Settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from this Action to start or continue with your own lawsuit or to participate in any other lawsuit against the Defendant or the Released Parties that involve Released Claims. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that case immediately.

The deadline to object to this Settlement was November 22, 2022.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class (that is, do not opt out). If you opt out of the Settlement, you cannot object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

On December 5, 2022, the Court held a Final Approval Hearing via online video conference before The Honorable Michael A. Duddy. At this hearing, the Court considered the Settlement fair, reasonable, adequate, and approved the Settlement. You can find more information in the Final Approval Order here.

Now that the Settlement is approved, if you are a Settlement Class Member and you did not exclude, you will receive a Settlement payment. You also gave up rights explained in FAQ 9–11, including your right to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant and the Released Parties about the legal issues in this Action and released by the Settlement.

This Settlement Website summarizes the Settlement. Complete details are provided in the Settlement Agreement. Click here to view and download copies of the Settlement Agreement, Final Approval Order, and other related documents.

You may also contact the Settlement Administrator by phone at 1-800-508-4219, by email at info@ChurchillFeeSettlement.com, or by writing to Churchill v. Bangor Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 5357, Portland, OR 97228-5357.

You can also contact Settlement Class Counsel at:

Sophia Gold
Kaliel Gold PLLC
1100 15th Street., NW, 4th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
1-202-350-4783