Florence Bank Overdraft Fee Settlement, $390,881, No Claim Form, Automatic Payments, Final Approval Hearing December 15, 2026

If Florence Bank charged you certain overdraft or NSF fees between April 12, 2018 and February 12, 2024, you may be owed money from a $390,881 class action settlement, and you do not need to file a claim form. Florence Bank’s own transaction records are being used to identify eligible personal and business checking account holders and calculate their payments.

Payments go out only if the court grants final approval. The final approval hearing is December 15, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. The objection deadline printed in the notice is December 12, 2026. That is not a claims deadline. If you do nothing, you are included automatically.

Official settlement website: sullivanfeessettlement.com Administrator (Verita): 1-888-808-3240 | [email protected]

Florence Bank $390,881 Settlement: Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Case name	Benjamin Sullivan, Laundry Party LLC, and Deirdre Zabawa v. Florence Bank
Case number	2480CV00041
Court	Hampshire County Superior Court, Massachusetts
Filed	April 12, 2024
Settlement fund	$390,881
Who is covered	Personal and business checking account holders charged a qualifying Retry Fee or APSN Fee
Retry Fee period	April 12, 2018 to February 12, 2024
APSN Fee period	April 12, 2018 to June 5, 2023
Claim form required	No
How you are paid	Account credit (open accounts) or mailed check (closed accounts)
Objection deadline	December 12, 2026 (as printed in the notice)
Final approval hearing	December 15, 2026, 2:00 p.m.
Status	Final approval pending
Administrator	Verita

What Is the Florence Bank Overdraft Fee Lawsuit About?

Three plaintiffs, Benjamin Sullivan, Laundry Party LLC and Deirdre Zabawa, sued Florence Bank in Hampshire County Superior Court on April 12, 2024. They claimed the bank charged two types of fees it should not have. The original complaint alleged breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and unjust enrichment. An amended complaint filed April 23, 2024 added a claim under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 93A.

Florence Bank denies wrongdoing, says it charged the fees under its account agreements and applicable law, and agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of continuing. The court has not decided who is right.

What Are Retry Fees?

A retry fee comes up when a merchant submits the same payment again after the bank rejected it.

Say you have $100 in your account and a $150 automatic payment comes through by ACH. The bank returns it for insufficient funds and charges an NSF fee. A few days later the merchant sends the same $150 payment again, and the bank charges another fee. The plaintiffs argued that second fee was improper.

The settlement does not cover every repeat fee. Under the executed agreement, a Retry Fee is an NSF or overdraft fee tied to an ACH entry that either:

• was resubmitted with a RETRY PYMT indicator after the first request was declined, or
• was preceded within the previous 10 days by another returned ACH entry from the same merchant for the same amount, under the agreement’s conditions.

Florence Bank stopped assessing these fees on February 12, 2024.

What Are APSN Overdraft Fees?

APSN stands for Authorize Positive, Settle Negative. It happens like this:

1. You have $120 and make a $90 debit card purchase. The bank approves it because you have enough money.
2. The merchant does not finish the transaction right away. Meanwhile, another charge posts and lowers your balance.
3. When the $90 purchase finally settles, your balance is below zero, and the bank charges an overdraft fee.

The plaintiffs argued the bank should not charge an overdraft fee on a purchase it had already approved against a positive balance. This does not mean every APSN fee anywhere is unlawful. The claims here target Florence Bank’s practice under its own account agreements. The bank stopped assessing the challenged APSN fees on June 5, 2023.

Fee type	Covered period
Retry Fees	April 12, 2018 to February 12, 2024
APSN Fees	April 12, 2018 to June 5, 2023

Who Qualifies for the Florence Bank Settlement?

There are two settlement classes:

• Retry Class: Florence Bank personal or business checking account holders charged one or more qualifying Retry Fees from April 12, 2018 through February 12, 2024.
• APSN Class: Florence Bank personal or business checking account holders charged one or more qualifying APSN Fees from April 12, 2018 through June 5, 2023.

Some specifics:

• Former customers qualify. You do not need an open account today. If your account is closed, you get a check instead of a credit.
• Business accounts qualify. Laundry Party LLC is one of the named plaintiffs.
• You can be in both classes. Your fees from both are counted together.
• Joint accounts count as one. All authorized holders on the same account are treated as a single class member, so there is one payment per account, not one per owner.

Receiving a postcard or email notice means Florence Bank’s records show you were charged at least one challenged fee. If you think you were charged but got no notice, contact Verita and ask.

How Much Money Will You Get From the Florence Bank Settlement?

There is no fixed payout. Your payment depends on how much you paid in qualifying fees compared with everyone else.

First, the fund pays court-approved attorneys’ fees and expenses, notice and administration costs, taxes and service awards. What remains is the Net Settlement Fund. The formula in the agreement is:

• Your share = your qualifying Retry and APSN Fees ÷ total qualifying fees paid by all class members
• Your payment = your share × Net Settlement Fund

Someone who paid $100 in qualifying fees receives twice as much as someone who paid $50. You cannot receive more than the qualifying fees you paid, and you will likely receive less.

Where the $390,881 goes

Item	Amount
Attorneys’ fees	Up to one-third of the fund, about $130,293.67
Service awards	Up to $5,000 each for three plaintiffs, up to $15,000 total
Litigation expenses, notice and administration, taxes	Deducted from the fund
Customer payments	Whatever remains

If the court approves the maximum fee and awards, no more than about $245,587 would be left for class members before expenses, notice, administration and taxes are subtracted. Those amounts are requests, not final awards. Class members are not billed separately for the lawyers.

Do You Need to File a Claim for the Florence Bank Settlement?

No. You do not need to submit a form, upload statements, prove your fees, pay anything or hire a lawyer. The administrator is working from the bank’s records.

What helps is keeping your address current, especially if you closed your account or moved. Send updates to Verita through the official website or at 1-888-808-3240. Never give your banking passwords or login details to anyone offering to “help” you get this money.

How Will Florence Bank Settlement Payments Be Sent?

Your situation	How you are paid
Open qualifying account	Direct deposit into the account
Closed account	Check mailed to your last known address
Account closes before the deposit	Paid by check instead
Class member has died	Payment can go to the estate if it notifies Verita before the Effective Date and provides a death certificate

For open accounts, the administrator sends the funds to Florence Bank within 10 days of the Effective Date, and the bank must deposit them within 30 days after that. Checks for closed accounts must be mailed within 30 days of the Effective Date. Checks expire 180 days after they are issued, so cash yours promptly.

If other money is left over from uncashed checks, the administrator will redistribute it to class members who were paid when that is economically practical. Otherwise it goes to the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee.

What Is the December 12, 2026 Deadline?

December 12, 2026 is the objection deadline printed in the notice. It is not a deadline to claim money.

What if you do nothing? If you are a class member and the court approves the settlement, you get your payment automatically. You also give up the right to bring your own lawsuit against Florence Bank over the claims covered by the release.

Can you object and still get paid? Yes. You stay in the class and remain eligible for a payment.

How to object: Send a signed letter identifying the settlement and giving your full name, mailing address, telephone number and your reasons, along with any supporting evidence or legal arguments. The notice says it must be postmarked by December 12, 2026 and sent to:

Sullivan v. Florence Bank Objections P.O. Box 301130 Los Angeles, CA 90030-1130

Weekend warning: December 12, 2026 is a Saturday. The settlement agreement has a general rule that a deadline falling on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next business day, but the notice still prints December 12. Confirm with Verita or the court, and mail the objection by December 12 to be safe.

What about opting out? The short court notice lists two options, do nothing or object, and describes no separate exclusion procedure or deadline. The agreement does refer to a “Successful Opt-Out,” but it is not explained in the notice sent to customers. If you want to keep the right to sue on your own, ask Verita or your own attorney how to do that. Do not assume an exclusion request can go through the objection address.

When Will Florence Bank Settlement Payments Arrive?

The court will hold the final approval hearing on December 15, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Hampshire County Superior Court, 15 Gothic Street, Northampton, Massachusetts 01060. Remote access may be available through the settlement website. You do not need to attend. The judge will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate and whether to approve the attorneys’ fees, expenses and service awards.

Approval at the hearing does not start the payment clock. The “Effective Date” comes only after the final approval order is entered and the appeal period ends with no appeal, or any appeal is resolved. Payments could take several months, longer if someone appeals. No payment date has been announced.

What Laws Are Involved in the Florence Bank Lawsuit?

• Breach of contract: whether charging these fees broke the terms of the checking account agreements.
• Implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing: Massachusetts contract law expects parties to perform their duties in good faith, and the plaintiffs say the fee practices fell short.
• Unjust enrichment: whether the bank kept money it should not have.
• Chapter 93A: the Massachusetts statute against unfair or deceptive acts in trade or commerce.

The settlement resolves these claims without deciding that Florence Bank broke any of these laws.

How Does the Florence Bank Settlement Compare With Other Bank Fee Settlements?

Retry fees and APSN charges have led to claims against many banks and credit unions. Our coverage of the Country Bank for Savings $495,000 Fees Settlement, Kimball v. Country Bank for Savings shows a similar fee-based dispute at another Massachusetts bank. Credit union members may also want to read about the TTCU Federal Credit Union $3 Million Overdraft Fees Class Action Settlement, which also required no claim form, and the Morton Community Bank $238,000 Overdraft Fee Settlement. Each case has its own class period, fee definitions and payment formula, so eligibility for one does not carry over to another.

Florence Bank Settlement FAQ

Is the Florence Bank $390,881 settlement real?

Yes. It is documented in a court-authorized notice and an executed settlement agreement in Sullivan v. Florence Bank, Case No. 2480CV00041. The court must still grant final approval before anyone is paid.

Who qualifies for the Florence Bank overdraft settlement?

Personal and business checking account holders charged at least one qualifying Retry Fee or APSN Fee in the class periods.

What dates does the settlement cover?

Retry Fees: April 12, 2018 to February 12, 2024. APSN Fees: April 12, 2018 to June 5, 2023.

Do I need to file a claim?

No. Payments are automatic and based on Florence Bank’s records.

How much will I receive?

It depends on your share of all qualifying fees paid. You cannot receive more than the qualifying fees you paid, and will likely receive less.

Do all customers get the same amount?

No. Payments are proportional to the qualifying fees paid.

Do former customers qualify?

Yes. Closing your account does not remove you. Keep your mailing address current with Verita.

Are business accounts included?

Yes, personal and business checking accounts are both covered.

What if I had a joint account?

All authorized holders on one account are treated as one class member.

Can I get paid for both Retry and APSN fees?

Yes. Qualifying fees from both are counted together.

What is an APSN fee?

An overdraft fee on a debit card purchase approved while your balance was positive but settled after your balance went negative.

What is a Retry Fee?

An NSF or overdraft fee on a qualifying ACH payment that was resubmitted after a first attempt was declined, as defined in the settlement agreement.

When will I be paid?

Not until after final approval (hearing December 15, 2026) and the end of any appeals. No date is announced.

Do I have to attend the hearing?

No. Only people who object and want to speak need to follow the notice’s requirements for appearing.

What happens if I do nothing?

You are included, you receive a credit or check if the settlement is approved, and you give up the right to sue Florence Bank separately over the covered claims.

What if I moved after closing my account?

Contact Verita at 1-888-808-3240 or [email protected] with your new address.

Bottom Line

The Florence Bank settlement puts $390,881 toward reimbursing two disputed fee practices: repeat charges on resubmitted ACH payments and overdraft fees on debit purchases approved with enough money in the account. Eligible personal and business customers do not need to file anything. Your payment depends on the fees you paid, and the fund must first cover legal fees, service awards and administration. Mark December 12, 2026 for objections (confirm the weekend issue) and December 15, 2026 for the final approval hearing, and make sure Verita has your current address.

Sources

1. Official settlement website
2. Court-authorized Settlement Notice (October 6, 2026)
3. Executed Settlement Agreement
4. Official FAQ, Important Dates and Case Documents
5. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A; Massachusetts Rule of Civil Procedure 23

Researched and written by Israr Ahmad, legal content researcher and founder of AllAboutLawyer.com. All facts verified against the official settlement notice, the executed settlement agreement and the settlement administrator’s website, as of October 31, 2026. Last Updated: October 31, 2026. The Notice and Settlement Agreement control if they differ from this summary.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary by state and individual circumstances differ. For advice about your specific situation, consult a qualified attorney. Deadlines, amounts and court dates can change, so confirm them on the official settlement website before you act.