Important Updates: The Final Approval Hearing was held on August 19, 2021 and the Court entered the Order Granting Final Approval of Class Settlement. If you need to update your mailing address, please visit the Contact Us page. Please check this website periodically for additional updates.
If You entered into a "Buydown Agreement," sometimes also referred to as a "Buydown Deposit Agreement" or a "FHA/VA Interest Rate Buydown Plan" (herein collectively referred to as “Buydown Agreement”) during the Class Period with Wells Fargo in connection with a residential real estate mortgage loan transaction concerning property located in the United States, you may be eligible for a cash payment from this class action settlement.
What is this lawsuit about?
A settlement has been reached in a class action case entitled Alejandro Carrillo v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Case No. 2:18-cv-03095-PKC-JMW, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The plaintiff has alleged that: (1) Wells Fargo violated the federal Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq. (“TILA”) by improperly disclosing the interest rate that would be applied to a customer’s loan while their Buydown Agreement was in effect; (2) Wells Fargo’s method of applying interest to a customer’s loan breached the terms of the customer’s Buydown Agreement; and (3) the disclosures Wells Fargo gave customers in connection with their Buydown Agreement were in violation of state consumer protection statutes. Wells Fargo denies Plaintiff’s allegations and denies that it did anything wrong. The Court has not decided who is right.
Who is included?
There are two potential classes involved in this case, the TILA Class and the Breach of Contract Class. “Settlement Class” or “Settlement Class Member” refers to all members of the Breach of Contract Class and TILA Class. If you received notice of the settlement directed to you, records indicate that you are a member of the Settlement Class.
TILA Class: All persons in the United States (a) who entered into Buydown Agreements with Wells Fargo in residential real estate mortgage transactions; (b) within one year prior to the filing of the Initial Complaint on May 25, 2018; (c) in which Wells Fargo disclosed in the borrower’s loan Closing Disclosure a lower effective interest rate for an initial period followed by a higher interest rate for the remainder of the life of the loan; and (d) as to whom, during the initial period, Wells Fargo amortized the loan at a rate higher than the lowest disclosed effective rate.
Breach of Contract Class: All persons in the United States who during the Class Period entered into Buydown Agreements with Wells Fargo in residential real estate mortgage transactions in which Wells Fargo disclosed a lower effective interest rate for an initial period followed by a higher interest rate for the remainder of the life of the loan but, during the initial period, amortized the loan at a rate higher than the lowest disclosed effective rate.
If you entered into a Buydown Agreement during the Class Period with Wells Fargo in connection with a residential real estate mortgage loan transaction concerning property located in the United States and you fit the description of the Settlement Class (as defined above), then you are eligible to receive a payment.
What Benefits are Available?
You do not need to submit a claim to receive a payment. Under the Settlement, Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $6,945,095 into a fund from which eligible Settlement Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the Settlement will receive Cash Awards. The fund will also be used to pay settlement administration expenses, any Court-awarded Service Award, and Court-awarded attorneys' fees and costs.
The Court in charge of this case has approved the Settlement. Benefits will be distributed to those who qualify and have not excluded themselves and after any appeals, if filed, are resolved. Please be patient.
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