A judge has approved a $142 million settlement in the first class action lawsuit filed in the Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) “unauthorized account” scandal. The deal, negotiated by Seattle-based law firm Keller Rohrback L.L.P., includes a first-of-its-kind mechanism to repay Wells Fargo victims for increased borrowing costs incurred because of a change to their credit score, together with credit repair services to reverse the harm itself. Wells Fargo customers who believe an unauthorized account was opened in their name still have time to file a claim.

Following a hearing in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday, May 30, the Hon. Vince Chhabria said he would approve the settlement, which—if no appeals are filed—would clear the way for the processing of class members’ claims.

“This settlement was designed to make sure that Wells Fargo’s victims are fully compensated, and we are happy that Judge Chhabria has found it is a fair and adequate resolution to this three-year-old, hard-fought litigation and negotiation,” said Derek Loeser, a partner at Keller Rohrback L.L.P., which represents the nationwide class in the case.

Judge Chhabria ordered the attorneys to submit a written proposed order granting final approval to the settlement by 3 p.m. May 31 and has indicated he would issue a formal, written order in the days to come.

Under the settlement, class members with valid claims would be entitled to three types of compensation:

• First, class members would be refunded any fees charged to unauthorized accounts that have not already been refunded.
• Second, for class members who claim damage to their credit caused by unauthorized accounts, they would receive payment for the added cost of borrowing money attributable to the unauthorized accounts.
• Third, after fees and credit damages are paid, any money remaining in the settlement fund will be divided among claimants on a per account basis.

Full details of the settlement, including a description of the first-of-its-kind credit damages model, are at www.wfsettlement.com, the official settlement website.

For any Wells Fargo customers who think they may have had an unauthorized account opened in their name, there is still plenty of time to file a claim. The deadline to file claims is July 7, 2018. Information on how to file a claim is at www.wfsettlement.com.

As of May 27, over 472,000 claim forms had already been filed with many forms identifying multiple unauthorized accounts. “We expect that number to continue to rise as more people file claims to take advantage of this settlement, which should make them whole for the damage Wells Fargo has done,” Loeser said.

About Keller Rohrback

Keller Rohrback L.L.P. is a consumer-rights class action law firm with offices in six locations. Our Complex Litigation Group is proud to offer its expertise to clients nationwide, and our trial lawyers have obtained judgments and settlements on behalf of clients in excess of $23.25 billion. The firm’s record of success includes settlements with numerous Fortune 500 companies accused of cheating their employees and customers. Recently, managing partner Lynn Sarko was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the landmark Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” litigation. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.krcomplexlit.com, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.