ACH Litigation Settlement

The Actions included in this Settlement were filed on behalf of borrowers of residential mortgage loans serviced by Nationstar who experienced unauthorized debits and in some cases credits within their banking accounts between April 23-26, 2021.  The Actions asserted claims against the Defendants for (1) violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq., (2) violations of the North Carolina Debt Collection Act, N.C.G.S. § 75-50, et seq., (3) Negligence, (4) violations of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, N.C.G.S. § 75-1.1, (5) Conversion, (6), Violations of the Electronic Fund Transfers Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1393, et seq., (7) violations of N.C.G.S. § 1-538.2, (8) Breach of Contract, (9) Civil Conspiracy, (10) violations of the Michigan Mortgage Brokers, Lenders, and Servicers Licensing Act, M.C.L. § 445-1672a, (11) violations of the Michigan Regulation of Collection Practices Act, M.C.L. § 445.252, et seq., (12) Unjust Enrichment, (13) Trespass to Chattels, (14) violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 815 ILCS 505/1, et seq., (15) violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq., (16) violations of the New York General Business Law § 349, (17) violations of New York General Business Law § 350, (18) Breach of Fiduciary Duty, (19) violations of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1788, et seq., (20) violations of the California Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200, et seq., (21) violations of the California Penal Code § 502, (22) violations of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, Fla. Stat § 559.72(9), and (23) violations of Nevada Deceptive Trade Act, NRS 598.0915, et seq., arising from and related to the Incident.  The Actions request an award of monetary damages as well as non-monetary relief including requiring Defendants to forgive and waive any entitlement to recover from certain overpayments, and compelling ACI to implement changes to its business practices to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Defendants deny any wrongdoing and deny all claims asserted against them in the Actions.  The parties have agreed to settle the Actions to avoid the cost, delay, and uncertainty of litigation.

You can obtain and read copies of the relevant pleadings in the Actions, the Settlement Agreement, and other case documents, as well as download a Claim Form, at the Imporant Documents page.

In a class action, Class Representatives (who serve as named plaintiffs), sue on behalf of a group (or a “Class”) of people. Here, the Class Representatives, as identified in the individual Actions above, sued on behalf of borrowers of Nationstar-serviced mortgages who incurred ACH activity within their banking accounts between April 23-26, 2021. 

To avoid the cost, risk, and delay of litigation, the Parties reached a Settlement as to the claims of Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class.

For settlement purposes, the Court has certified a Settlement Class consisting of all people who meet the following definition:

“All persons throughout the United States whose mortgages were or are serviced by Nationstar, and who were subjected to the Incident.”

To obtain a recovery, you must submit a Claim Form and any requested documentation.  The benefits to Class Members consist of the following forms of relief:  

• Monetary Compensation:  The Settlement consists of three separate payments by ACI, referred to as Funds A, B and C, as described below, and cover all claims, attorneys’ fees and costs, service awards to the Class Representatives, costs of administration of the settlement, reimbursement for previously unreimbursed actual damages, and non-monetary relief valued at $1,000,000 in business practice changes.  
  • Fund A Claims. ACI will set aside $5 million to pay all claims, attorneys’ fees and costs, service awards and settlement administration costs associated with the Settlement.  Each Settlement Class Member who submits a Claim Form may receive $100 unless such amount was previously paid to them by ACI or Nationstar as part of an overpayment. The amount paid to claimants may increase or decrease pro rata depending on the amount of Approved Claims. If Fund A is oversubscribed, then there will be a pro rata reduction in the amount received. Yet, in the event that funds remain in Fund A after payment of the above items, all remaining amounts will be increased pro rata to Claimants. 
  • Fund B Claims. ACI will set aside $1 million to pay claims submitted by Settlement Class Members who can prove that they have suffered unreimbursed actual damages as a result of the Incident. Actual damages may include out-of-pocket expenses you paid, or other losses or expenses you sustained as a result of the Incident. There is no cap on the amount of such claims.  
  • Fund C Claims.  Under this provision, ACI has agreed to pay up to an additional $500,000 to claimants based upon participation rates of Settlement Class Members who file claims within Fund A.  
• Additional Monetary Relief.  Defendants will forgive and waive any entitlement that they may have to recover from the Settlement Class, $2,860,000 in overpayments made by ACI to approximately 1,200 Settlement Class Members, and approximately $190,000 in damages payments made by Nationstar to Settlement Class Members.
• Non-Monetary Relief.  ACI has agreed to provide non-monetary relief to the Settlement Class valued at $1,000,000.   This will require ACI to provide evidence of implementing changes to its business practices so as to prevent similar ACH activity from occurring in the future. 

You can submit an electronic Claim Form or download one at the Important Documents page and mail it to:

ACH Litigation Settlement Administrator
1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Again, all claim forms must be submitted online, or mailed and postmarked, no later than November 13, 2023.

By staying in the Class, all of the Court’s orders will apply to you, and you give the Defendants a “release.”  A release means you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendants about the claims or issues in these Actions (relating to the Incident), and you will be bound by the Settlement.  The specific claims you are giving up against the Defendants are called “Released Claims.”  The Released Claims are described in Section VIII of the Settlement Agreement, which is available under the Important Documents page.  The Settlement Agreement describes the Released Claims with specific and accurate legal descriptions, so read it carefully.

The ten (10) Class Representatives in the Actions will receive a portion of the Settlement as they would if they elect to submit a Claim.  These Class Representatives will also each receive a payment of up to $2,500 as a Service Award for having pursued this action on behalf of themselves and Settlement Class Members.  Service Awards are subject to Court approval.

To represent the Class, the Court has appointed the following counsel as Class Counsel, who may be contacted at:

For litigating the case and negotiating the Settlement, Class Counsel will request from the Court an award of Attorneys’ Fees, not to exceed one-third of the Settlement Value, plus Expenses.  The award of any Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses are subject to Court approval. You may hire your own attorney, but only at your own expense.

If you do not want to file a claim for compensation and benefits provided by the Settlement Agreement and you would like to keep the right to sue the Defendants relating to the Incident, then you must take steps to get out of the Settlement. This is called “excluding” yourself or “opting out” of the Settlement Class.

To exclude yourself, you must send a Request for Exclusion that: 

(i)    Lists the caption of the lawsuit Dugan v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, M.D.N.C., Case No. 1:21-cv-341;
(ii)    States your full name, address and telephone number;
(iii)    Contains your personal and original signature or the original signature of a person authorized by law to act on your behalf with respect to a claim or right such as those asserted in the Actions, such as a trustee, guardian or person acting under a power of attorney; and
(iv)    States unequivocally your intent to be excluded from the Settlement. 

You must mail your exclusion request, postmarked no later than April 29, 2023, to: 

ACH Litigation Settlement Administrator
Attn: Exclusions
P.O. Box 58220    
Philadelphia, PA 19102

Any Settlement Class Member who has not requested to be excluded from the Settlement Class may object to the Settlement.  In order to exercise this right, you must submit your written objection to the following:

Your objection must be postmarked no later than April 29, 2023, and include all of the following:

1. Your full name, address, telephone number, and email address (if any);
2. Information identifying you as a Settlement Class Member, including proof that you are a member of the Settlement Class;
3. A statement as to whether the objection applies only to you, to a specific subset of the Settlement Class, or to the entire Settlement Class;
4. A clear and detailed written statement of the specific legal and factual bases for each and every objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection that you believe applicable;
5. The identity of any counsel representing you;
6. A statement whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either in person or through counsel, and, if through counsel, identifying that counsel;
7. A list of all persons who will be called to testify at the Final Approval Hearing in support of the objection; and
8. Your signature and the signature of your duly authorized attorney or other duly authorized representative.
9. If the objection is made through an attorney, the written objection must also include: (1) the identity and number of the Settlement Class members represented by objector’s counsel; (2) the number of such represented Settlement Class members who have opted out of the Settlement Class; and (3) the number of such represented Settlement Class members who have remained in the Settlement Class and have not objected. If the attorney intends to seek fees and expenses from anyone other than the objector(s) that he or she represents, the attorney shall also file with the Court and serve upon Class Counsel and Defendants’ counsel not later than 15 days before the Final Approval Hearing, or as the Court may otherwise direct, a document containing the following: (1) the amount of fees sought by the attorney for representing the objector(s) and the factual and legal justification for the fees being sought; (2) a statement regarding whether the fees being sought were calculated on the basis of a lodestar, contingency, or other method; (3) the number of hours already spent by the attorney, and an estimate of the hours to be spent in the future; and (4) the attorney’s hourly rate.
10. Objectors must also make themselves available for deposition by counsel for the Parties between the time the objection is filed and a date no later than 10 days before the Final Approval Hearing, and the objection must include the dates when the objector is available for his or her deposition.

The Court will hold a Final Approval and Fairness Hearing on May 31, 2023 at 10:00 A.M. Courtroom 1 at the Hiram H. Ward Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 251 N. Main Street, Winston Salem, NC 27101The purpose of the hearing will be for the Court to determine whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and in the best interests of the Settlement Class, and to rule on applications for compensation for Class Counsel and Service Awards for the Class Representatives.  At that hearing, the Court will be available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed Settlement.

YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ATTEND THIS HEARING TO BENEFIT FROM THIS SETTLEMENT.  The hearing may be postponed to a later date without notice.

If you have objected to the Settlement and intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without counsel, you must file a notice of appearance with the Court and serve it on Class Counsel and Defendants’ Counsel at the addresses above in FAQ 10, by April 29, 2023.  If you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing through counsel, you also must identify the attorney(s) representing you who will appear at the Final Approval Hearing and include the attorney(s) name, address, phone number, and email address.

Additional information and documents, including case documents, are available on the Important Documents page or by contacting the Settlement Administrator at (855) 645-0554 or write to the Settlement Administrator at info@ACHLoanPaymentLitigation.com.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE COURT, THE JUDGE, CLASS COUNSEL, THE DEFENDANTS OR THEIR COUNSEL WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT OR CLAIMS PROCESS.