Federal Judge Refuses to Toss out Lawsuits Stemming from Excessive Bank Overdraft Fees

Miami, FLLast Thursday a federal judge refused to dismiss lawsuits against several major banks centered on excessive overdraft fees.

In his 50-page opinion, Judge Lawrence King declared that Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, US Bank, Wachovia, Wells Fargo and others are not entitled to a dismissal of complaints that seek to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars in wrongful overdraft fees charged to consumers on debit card purchases.

"Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts - that, among other things, defendants manipulated the posting order of debit transactions in bad faith so as to maximize the number of overdraft fees incurred," wrote King. "[Consumers are] not trying to prevent banks from engaging in the business of banking, they are merely asking the banks to do so in good faith."

Earlier in the week, Bank of America announced that it would no longer collect overdraft fees after this summer. The bank will begin declining purchases with insufficient funds rather than assessing the $35 fine that had previously accompanied these transactions.

All complaints against the banking industry related to overdraft fees have been consolidated in the US District Court in the Southern District of Florida in Miami. A trial date is yet to be announced.