What is this lawsuit about?

When persons are arrested and detained, detention facilities confiscate their personal property, including cash. Their money is held in trust while they are in custody and returned when they are released. Many detention facilities returned this money through prepaid debit cards (“release cards”) issued by Defendants. The facilities are not charged for this service. Defendants profit by taking fees from the money to be returned to detainees, including “maintenance” charges assessed for simply possessing the unrequested cards.

 

​When Plaintiff was released from custody money she had with her when she was arrested was held until her release a few hours later. Instead of receiving her money back in either cash or with a check, she had to accept a release card for the return of her funds. Her release card was incurring fees as it was handed to her.

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Neither the Plaintiff nor other recipients of these release cards requested or agreed their money could be transferred to an account controlled by Defendants that could only be accessed through release cards. But they had no choice; they either accepted a release card or left the jail without their money. And as they left the facilities with their cards, fees had already begun accumulating on their money. Those fees were supposedly authorized under the non-negotiable terms of a cardholder “agreement” provided with the unrequested cards.

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Plaintiff brought this lawsuit because it was illegal under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (“EFTA”) to require her to accept a release card she did not request to return her own money and charge fees that were illegal. A copy of the complaint that fully describes the claims can be viewed here. A tentative settlement of the claims brought against Defendants Numi Financial and Central National Bank has been reached, subject to approval by the court. 

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The Court certified this lawsuit as a class action.  If you received a release card from the Defendants at one of the facilities listed here, you are a member of the class and may be eligible to participate in this settlement. To learn more about the settlement and your options, click on the button below.