The U.S. Bank class action lawsuit history spans two decades and covers overdraft fee reordering, unauthorized account openings, second mortgages, 401(k) plan fees, wage misclassification, and the bank’s role as trustee on residential mortgage-backed securities. The two largest consumer settlements were $92 million in a Missouri second-mortgage case and $55 million in a multidistrict overdraft case. Other actions produced smaller settlements, dismissals, or are still pending.
$55 Million Overdraft Fee Settlement
The best-known consumer class action against U.S. Bank was part of the multidistrict litigation In re Checking Account Overdraft Litigation (Case No. 1:09-md-02036), consolidated in the Southern District of Florida before Judge James Lawrence King. Customers alleged U.S. Bank reordered debit card and ATM transactions from highest to lowest dollar amount instead of processing them chronologically, draining accounts faster and triggering extra overdraft fees on smaller transactions that would otherwise have cleared.1PR Newswire. $55 Million Settlement Announced in U.S. Bank Overdraft Fee Class Action
The class covered more than one million customers across 23 states who opened accounts between 2003 and 2010 and were hit with two or more overdraft fees in a single day because of the reordering.2Stoll Berne. U.S. Bank Asks Court to Approve $55 Million Settlement in Overdraft Class Action3Star Tribune. U.S. Bank Owes 2.7 Million People for Overdrafts U.S. Bank agreed to pay $55 million, roughly 13% of estimated damages. The court granted final approval on January 6, 2014. Class members did not need to file claims. Current customers received automatic account credits; former customers received checks at their last known address, with distribution finished by June 24, 2014.4Top Class Actions. U.S. Bank Overdraft Class Action Settlement Preliminarily Approved
$92 Million Direct Loans Settlement
The largest payout came out of Jackson County, Missouri. Thomas and Jelinek-Thomas, et al. v. U.S. Bank National Association ND and U.S. Bank National Association (Case No. 1216-CV20561) consolidated five class actions challenging U.S. Bank’s purchase, assignment, or servicing of about 1,500 second mortgage loans. The class included more than 2,400 members.
The settlement, approved on November 16, 2012, totaled $92 million. Individual payouts ranged from an estimated $250 to $142,257, averaging about $33,500. Amounts were subject to court-approved offsets for unpaid loan principal.5WRR&V Law. U.S. Bank Direct Loans Settlement
401(k) Excessive Fee Settlement (Pending)
A current case directly affects U.S. Bank retirement plan participants. In Dionicio et al. v. U.S. Bancorp et al. (Case No. 0:23-cv-00026-PJS-DLM) in the District of Minnesota, participants in the U.S. Bank 401(k) Savings Plan alleged that annual recordkeeping and administrative fees of about $29 per person were excessive under ERISA.6Bloomberg Law. U.S. Bancorp Settles for $250,000 With 93,000 Retirement Investors
U.S. Bancorp agreed to a $250,000 settlement covering about 93,000 investors. Preliminary approval was filed in January 2026 before Judge Patrick J. Schiltz. The fairness hearing is scheduled for August 19, 2026, with an objection deadline of August 5, 2026. Anyone who was a participant in or beneficiary of the plan between January 5, 2017, and the date of final approval is covered and does not need to file a claim to receive a payment.7U.S. Bank 401(k) Settlement. Dionicio et al. v. U.S. Bancorp et al. Settlement
Securities Fraud Class Action — Dismissed
After the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found in July 2022 that U.S. Bank had opened credit cards, lines of credit, and deposit accounts without customer consent, shareholders sued. The Buhrke Family Revocable Trust v. U.S. Bancorp (Case No. 22-cv-09174, S.D.N.Y.), filed in October 2022, alleged the bank concealed that sales pressure drove employees to open unauthorized accounts, had known about the misconduct since at least 2015, and had reported revenues partly sustained by it. U.S. Bancorp’s stock dropped roughly 4% after the CFPB order.8PR Newswire. Investor Notice: U.S. Bancorp Investors With Substantial Losses Have Opportunity to Lead Class Action Lawsuit
The court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss on March 28, 2024. The plaintiff did not amend, and the case was dismissed with prejudice on May 8, 2024.9Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. U.S. Bancorp Securities Litigation Filing
California Wage and Hour Class Action (Pending)
Williams v. U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., et al. (Case No. CGC-10-499011) in San Francisco County Superior Court alleges that U.S. Bancorp violated the California Labor Code by misclassifying commission-paid Financial Consultants, Financial Advisors, and Investment Advisors as exempt from overtime and meal and rest break rules. The class covers current and former commission-paid advisors who worked for U.S. Bancorp in California at any time since May 8, 2008.10U.S. Bank Lawsuit. Williams v. U.S. Bancorp Investments Settlement
The procedural road has been long. A trial court dismissed the class claims and compelled individual arbitration. In June 2020, the California Court of Appeal (First District, Division 4) reversed, holding that an earlier decertification of a related class did not bar absent members from bringing the same claims in a new action, and remanded the case.11FindLaw. Williams v. U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. The case remains pending, with no final settlement or verdict reported.
RMBS Trustee Class Actions
U.S. Bank was sued over its duties as trustee of residential mortgage-backed securities trusts. In Blackrock Balanced Capital Portfolio (FI), et al. v. U.S. Bank National Association, investment funds and insurance companies claimed the bank failed to investigate and remedy defective mortgage loans across more than 800 RMBS trusts, seeking tens of billions in alleged class-wide losses. After the New York Appellate Division reversed part of a lower-court ruling in U.S. Bank’s favor and a federal court denied class certification, the plaintiffs settled their individual claims.12Jones Day. U.S. Bank Prevails on Appeal and Obtains Settlement
A related case, Triaxx Prime CDO 2006-1 Ltd. et al. v. The Bank of New York Mellon et al. (Case No. 1:16-cv-01597, S.D.N.Y.), sought $280 million from U.S. Bank and BNY Mellon as trustees for 45 RMBS trusts with an original face value of $4.26 billion. Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald dismissed the case with prejudice on March 8, 2018, finding the plaintiffs lacked standing because they had transferred their contractual rights when they entered into CDO indentures.13Mayer Brown. U.S. Bank, BNY Mellon Escape $280M RMBS Trustee Suit
Smaller and Unresolved Class Actions
Fair Credit Reporting Act. In July 2022, U.S. Bank agreed to pay $450,000 to resolve a class action alleging it pulled consumer credit reports without a proper purpose or permission.14Top Class Actions. U.S. Bank Data Breach Affects About 11,000 Customers
Mortgage pay-to-pay fees. Casper vs. US Bank (Case No. 5:19-cv-00850-TJM-TWD, N.D.N.Y.) challenged U.S. Bank’s practice of charging a convenience fee of $3.50 (and later $5.00) for mortgage payments made by phone or online, arguing the fee was not authorized by the loan documents and violated federal debt collection law.15Top Class Actions. U.S. Bank Class Action Challenges Pay-to-Pay Fees No settlement or final resolution has been publicly reported.
Non-disparagement clauses. Aguilar, et al. v. US Bank NA, et al. (Case No. 2:24-cv-00154, C.D. Cal.), filed in January 2024, alleged that U.S. Bank’s digital service agreements contained non-disparagement clauses stifling customers’ right to make negative statements about the bank.16Top Class Actions. U.S. Bank, BOA Class Actions Accuse Companies of Stifling Customer Rights to Free Speech The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case without prejudice on March 1, 2024.17PACER Monitor. Aguilar et al v. U.S. Bank National Association et al
2022 data breach. A third-party vendor breach on September 27, 2022, exposed names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birthdates, closed account numbers, and outstanding balances for about 11,000 U.S. Bank customers. No class action settlement from this breach has been publicly reported.14Top Class Actions. U.S. Bank Data Breach Affects About 11,000 Customers
Not Class Actions: The Larger Government Penalties
Two of U.S. Bank’s biggest legal payouts are often grouped with its class action history but belong in a different category. The $528 million the bank paid in February 2018 under a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York resolved federal criminal charges for Bank Secrecy Act violations tied to anti-money laundering failures, not a private class action.18U.S. Department of Justice. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Criminal Charges Against U.S. Bancorp19Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. U.S. Bank National Association Enforcement Action20Banking Dive. CFPB Terminates Orders Against U.S. Bank Those matters produced regulator-ordered consumer redress rather than class-wide settlement funds.