Judge OKs $410 mil settlement for BofA

MIAMI  A federal judge on Monday gave final approval to a $410million settlement in a class-action lawsuit affecting more than 13million Bank of America customers who had debit-card overdrafts during the past decade.

Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King said the agreement was fair and reasonable, even though it drew criticism from some customers because they would only receive a fraction of what they paid in overdraft fees. The fees were usually $35 per occurrence.

Bank attorney Laurence Hutt said 13.2million Bank of America customers who had debit cards between January 2001 and May 2011 would get some payment. Those who still have accounts would get an automatic credit and the others would get a check mailed to them. No one would have to take any action or fill out any paperwork.

Barry Himmelstein, an attorney for customers who objected to the deal, said he calculated that the bank actually raked in $4.5billion through the overdraft fees and was repaying less than 10percent. He said the average customer in the case had $300 in overdraft fees, making them eligible for a $27 award from the lawsuit.

Hutt said only 46 customers filed formal objections to the settlement and 350 decided to opt out, meaning they could take separate legal action on their own.

"It's very easy for people to say on the sidelines, 'I could do better,'" Hutt said. "Never is a settlement at 100percent of what somebody thinks they can receive at trial. It's always a compromise."