SunTrust Overdraft Class Action

A Georgia SunTrust consumer deposit account holder, on behalf of himself and a proposed class of similarly situated people, filed a lawsuit against SunTrust alleging that SunTrust’s overdraft fees on certain transactions constitute interest, and therefore violate Georgia’s usury laws, which limit the amount of interest a lender may charge. The lawsuit further alleges that, in assessing and collecting these overdraft fees, SunTrust committed conversion and is liable under a theory of money had and received. SunTrust denies that the overdraft fees constitute interest and denies that it is liable to any member of the class under any of the theories alleged in the lawsuit.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people, called “class representatives,” sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All these people together are called a “class” or “class members.” Because a class action affects the rights of all class members, the Court must find that certain requirements are met to ensure that class treatment is appropriate and that the rights of the class members are being adequately represented. Only then will the Court “certify” a class, as the Court has already done here. After a class has been certified, the Court decides all the issues in the lawsuit for all class members. The decisions of the Court are binding on all class members.

This case was filed on July 12, 2010. On October 6, 2017, the Court certified a class (as clarified by the Court on March 4, 2024, and by the Georgia Court of Appeals on February 20, 2025) (the “Class”) and named a Class Representative. The Class Representative is Charles Daniel Bickerstaff.

The Georgia Court of Appeals held that (a) members of the certified Class who had closed their SunTrust accounts before June 1, 2010 must arbitrate their claims and (b) members of the certified Class may not assert claims based on overdraft fees charged after April 15, 2014, because of an amendment to Georgia’s usury laws. SunTrust Bank v. Bickerstaff, 375 Ga. App. 37 (2025).

The Court has reached a final decision to approve the Class Settlement. The Class Representative and SunTrust have agreed to a Settlement with the Settlement Class to avoid the expense and uncertainty of further litigation.

On March 4, 2024, the Court defined the certified Class as follows:

Every person who was a Georgia citizen on the date Plaintiff filed this Complaint on July 12, 2010, and has thereafter continuously remained through October 6, 2017, a citizen of Georgia who had or has one or more accounts with SunTrust Bank and who, from July 12, 2006 to October 6, 2017 (i) had at least one overdraft of $500.00 or less resulting from an ATM or debit card transaction (the “Transaction”); (ii) paid any Overdraft Fees as a result of the Transaction; and (iii) did not receive a refund of those fees.

The Settling Class Members are the members of the certified Class described above whose SunTrust deposit accounts were not closed before June 1, 2010, and who have claims based on overdraft fees charged between July 12, 2006 and April 15, 2014, excluding 158 individuals who previously opted out of the class (the “Settling Class Members” or “Settlement Class”).

For purposes of this definition, an Overdraft Fee includes any fee or charge paid in connection with an overdraft, including but not limited to an overdraft fee, insufficient funds fee, NSF fee, and/or extended overdraft fee, but does not include fees charged when an overdraft is covered by transferring the account holder’s own money from one of the account holder’s accounts to another.

If you received a postcard Notice addressed to you in the mail or an email Notice, available records suggest that you may meet the above criteria.

Yes. If you believe you are a Settlement Class Member but did not receive a postcard Notice in the mail or an email Notice, you must contact the Settlement Administrator immediately. You can contact the Settlement Administrator at 877-239-8765 or click here.

However, if you are included in the definition of the Settlement Class, you are a Settlement Class Member even if you did not get a Notice by mail or email. That means you have all the legal rights and choices described in this Notice, and you must exercise them in the time allowed. It also means that you will be bound by the Court’s orders and the judgment in this case.

If you are a Class Member but did not get a Notice by mail or email, you will not receive a Claim Form by mail or email, and you will not be able to get any money from the Settlement. Please contact the Settlement Administrator to update your address so that you will receive a Claim Form.

The Settlement requires SunTrust to pay a maximum amount of $240,000,000 (“Settlement Amount”). Settling Class Members who comply with the claims process shall be paid a partial refund for Overdraft Fees paid and interest on those fees from that maximum amount after other fees and costs are deducted.

The Court may award an incentive payment to the Class Representative in an amount of up to $200,000. The Court may also award Class Counsel attorney’s fees of up to 33 1/3% of the Settlement Amount, and the Court may also reimburse Class Counsel for costs and expenses that they incurred in prosecuting the case, in an amount of up to $3,000,000.

After the attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, and incentive payment are deducted from the Settlement Amount, along with the costs of administering the notice and claims process, the remaining funds will be the “Net Settling Class Member Funds.” Class Members who submit valid claims as set forth in FAQ 7 will be entitled to a portion of the Net Settling Class Member Funds. The funds will be allocated among the Settling Class Members’ accounts as set forth in FAQ 8, and may be claimed as set forth in FAQ 7.

For each Settling Class Member who timely submits a claim form, the Settlement Administrator will send a check or digital transfer via Zelle. In order to receive a payment from the Settlement Funds, Settling Class Members must properly complete and timely submit a Claim Form. Specific Claim Forms are not yet available. They will be sent to Settling Class Members via mail and/or email if the Court approves the Settlement.

The Settlement has been approved by the Court following the Fairness and Final Approval Hearing (see FAQs 13-14) and has become final. The Net Settling Class Member Funds (see FAQ 6) will be available for Settling Class Members to claim following the appeal period and/or any appeals. The Settlement will not become final until the time to appeal the Court’s approval has expired or any appeals or attacks on that approval are resolved without resulting in a material change to the Settlement terms.

To receive a payment, a Settling Class Member must complete a specific Claim Form for each eligible account and submit it by the deadline. Specific Claim Forms are not yet available, and the deadline has not yet been set. Claim Forms will be mailed and emailed to each Settlement Class Member for whom that contact information is available after the Court approves the Settlement.

A Claim Form will be able to be submitted via mail or online. A Settling Class Member needs to submit a Claim Form for each eligible account. SunTrust records already identify Settling Class Members and the amount of their Overdraft Fees.

The Claim Form will require that the Settling Class Member affirm under penalty of perjury that he or she was a citizen of Georgia on July 12, 2010 and continuously remained a Georgia Citizen through October 6, 2017, and to sign his or her name (electronically for online submissions). A “Georgia Citizen” is an individual who, throughout the above time period, (i) was a U.S. citizen and (ii) made Georgia their home.

The Net Settling Class Member Fund will be allocated to each account associated with one or more Settling Class Members so that each account is allocated its pro rata share of the Net Settling Class Member Funds. The detailed distribution plan approved by the Court can be found here.

To summarize the Distribution Plan, an expert will use the account data that SunTrust produced in this case, and will calculate a “Settlement Payment” for each account associated with a Settling Class Member.

The expert will calculate an “Account Total” by adding up the amount of all of the relevant unrefunded Overdraft Fees and adding 7% simple interest per year from the date the account achieved a positive balance until December 31, 2025 (“Prejudgment Interest”).

Next, each account’s proportional share of the settlement funds will be calculated by dividing the Account Total by the sum of all the Account Totals for all of the Settling Class Members’s Accounts (“Proportional Share”).

Finally, each account’s “Settlement Payment” will be the account’s Proportional Share multiplied by the Net Settling Class Member Funds.

If the Settlement Payment for an account is less than $5, the account will be entitled to a minimum payment of $5.

According to SunTrust’s records, some accounts may be joint accounts associated with multiple Settling Class Members. For these accounts, if only one Settling Class Member returns a Claim Form for that account, then that Settling Class Member will receive the full Settlement Payment associated with that account. If multiple Settling Class Members associated with the account submit Claim Forms for the same account, the Settlement Payment will be equally divided among those Settling Class Members.

If a Settling Class Member does not timely submit a Claim Form, that Settling Class Member will not receive a check or any other payment. If no Settling Class Member submits a Claim Form for an account, the Settlement Payment for that account will not be paid and will remain with SunTrust.

All Settling Class Members will release their claims against SunTrust regardless of whether they make a Claim or receive any Settlement Payment. The specific release language appears in Section 5.1 of the Settlement Agreement, available here.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, there are three options in response to the Notice: (a) stay in the case and do nothing now; (b) request to be excluded from the Settlement Class; or (c) stay in the case but object to the proposed Settlement.

1. Remaining in the Lawsuit

If you wanted to remain in the lawsuit and receive a cash payment from the Settlement, you did not need to do anything at this time. Again, however, if you did not receive a postcard Notice by mail or email but believe you are a Settlement Class Member, then you must contact the Settlement Administrator immediately at 877-239-8765 or click here to provide your address or email address.

As a Settling Class Member, you will be bound by all the Court’s past and future orders. You will not be able to sue SunTrust separately for any of the claims in this lawsuit. You may, but are not required to, participate in the case through your own lawyer if he or she files a Notice of Appearance as discussed in Section 11 below.

If the Court approves the Settlement and the Settlement becomes final, Claim Forms will be sent via mail and/or via email. Your personal Claim Form is not yet available, and the deadline to submit it has not yet been set. You must complete and submit the Claim Form by the deadline in order to receive any money from the Settlement.

2. Requesting Exclusion - Deadline has passed

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement has passed.

3. Objecting to the Settlement - Deadline has passed.

The deadline to object to the Settlement has passed.

Settlement Class Members do not have to do anything yet to receive a cash payment from the Settlement. The judgment will include all Settlement Class Members.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you must submit a Claim Form at a later date to receive a cash payment from the Settlement. Claim Forms are not available yet. Claim Forms will be mailed and/or emailed to Settlement Class Members if the Court grants final approval of the Settlement.

If the Court grants final approval of the Settlement and you are a Settling Class Member, you will not be able to separately sue SunTrust for the same legal claims that are the subject of this lawsuit. You will also be legally bound by all orders the Court issues and any judgments the Court makes in this class action.

Section 5 of the Settlement Agreement describes the Releases, and Released Claims in necessary legal terminology, so please read this section carefully. The Settlement Agreement is available at www.SunTrustOverdraftClassAction.com.

Yes. The Court has appointed the following lawyers to represent the Class:

These lawyers are called Class Counsel. They are working on behalf of the Settlement Class Members. However, any Settlement Class Member may, if they desire, enter an appearance through their own lawyer. This means that you would hire your own lawyer, at your own expense. Your lawyer must file a paper called a Notice of Appearance with the Court no later than April 20, 2026, and send copies to Class Counsel.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to award attorneys’ fees of no more than 33 1/3% of the Settlement Amount, all to be paid from the Settlement Amount. They will also seek reimbursement of their costs and expenses incurred to prosecute this action of up to $3,000,000. Attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses will be determined by the Court following a hearing and will be based upon the evidence presented and legal principles that govern such awards. The Court may award less than the amounts requested. The application will be posted at www.SunTrustOverdraftClassAction.com in accordance with the Court’s Preliminary Approval Order.

The Court held a Fairness and Final Approval Hearing at 1:30 p.m. on May 26, 2026. The Court is located at the State Court of Fulton County, Georgia, 185 Central Ave, SW, Atlanta, GA 30303. At the Fairness and Final Approval Hearing, the Court considered all timely and valid objections, and considered whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court also considered the motion for an award of attorneys’ fees and for reimbursement of costs and expenses, as well as the motion for an incentive payment to the Class Representative. The Court listened to people who it deems have timely and validly asked to speak at the hearing. After the hearing, the Court decided to grant final approval of the Settlement and the payment of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, and the Class Representative incentive payment.

No, you did not have to come to the Fairness and Final Approval Hearing. Class Counsel answered any questions the Court had about the Settlement. But you and/or your lawyer were welcome to come at your own expense.

You must notify the Settlement Administrator of any change of address.

You may contact the Settlement Administrator at 1-877-239-8765, click here, or by writing to:

SunTrust Overdraft Class Action
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2873
Portland, OR 97208-2873

You should also contact the Settlement Administrator if the postcard Notice reached you at an address different from the address on the label, or if you would prefer that all further information about the lawsuit be mailed to a different address.

This Notice summarizes the lawsuit and Settlement. More details are in the pleadings filed in this lawsuit. You can read these documents at the Fulton County State Court, 185 Central Ave, SW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30303. The First Amended Complaint, SunTrust’s Answer, the Georgia Supreme Court’s Opinions, the most recent Georgia Court of Appeals’ opinion, the Trial Court’s Order certifying the Class, the Motion for Approval of Class Settlement, and the Motion for Approval of Attorneys’ Fees and Class Representative Award are also here.

You can also get more information or have questions answered by calling the Settlement Administrator at 1-877-239-8765, emailing info@suntrustoverdraftclassaction.com, or by writing to:

SunTrust Overdraft Class Action
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2873
Portland, OR 97208-2873

Please do not contact the Clerk, the Court, or Truist Bank, as they cannot answer any questions you may have or give any advice about the lawsuit.