Wells Fargo Bank HELOC Home Equity Line of Credit Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

If Wells Fargo Suspended Or Reduced Your Home Equity Line of Credit (“HELOC”), You May Be Entitled to Benefits From a Wells Fargo Class Action Settlement.

A class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo” or “Wells Fargo Bank” or “Defendant”) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (styled Marika Hamilton v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Class Action Case No. 4:09-CV-04152 CW) alleging, among other things, that Wells Fargo Bank improperly suspended or reduced Wells Fargo borrowers’ HELOC loans based on an allegedly false claim that their financial circumstances had deteriorated or that their homes had significantly declined in value, according to the Wells Fargo Bank HELOC Home Equity Line of Credit class action settlement notice.

You may be a Wells Fargo Bank HELOC Home Equity Line of Credit settlement class member if  you meet the following qualifications:

You are a member of the Financial Circumstances Class if you were a Person in the United States from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2011 whose Wells Fargo HELOC account was suspended or reduced by Wells Fargo based on a claim by Wells Fargo that your financial circumstances had experienced an adverse material change to justify the suspension or reduction.

You are a member of the Property Value Class if you were a Person in the United States from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2011 whose Wells Fargo HELOC account was suspended or reduced based on a claim by Wells Fargo that the value of the property securing the HELOC (i.e., your home) had experienced a significant decline in value to justify the suspension or reduction.

You are a member of the Former Customer Class if you were a Person in the United States from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2011 who (i) closed his or her HELOC account following a suspension or reduction of the account by Wells Fargo based upon a claim by Wells Fargo that there was either a material adverse change in your financial circumstances, or a significant decline in the value of the property securing the HELOC, and (ii) incurred a Deferred Origination Fee from Wells Fargo as a result of the closure.

The following are reportedly excluded from the settlement classes: Wells Fargo; the Claims Administrator; any corporate parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of Wells Fargo; any judge presiding over the case or over any of the actions which comprise the Actions; or the immediate family members of any such person(s).

The Settlement provides, among other things, the following relief:

• Wells Fargo will send Settlement Class Members a Notice of Right to Seek Reinstatement that advises Settlement Class Members that Wells Fargo’s policies for reinstatement of HELOC accounts may be different from the criteria which were in effect at the time their HELOC accounts were initially treated, and that customers have the right to request reinstatement under the currently applicable policies and procedures.
• For a period of twelve months following final approval of the settlement, for Settlement Class Members whose HELOCs were suspended or reduced based upon either a claimed material adverse change in financial circumstances or a supposed decline in the value of the property securing the HELOC, Wells Fargo will proactively consider such borrowers for reinstatement. Wells Fargo will conduct 4 rounds of such proactive account reinstatements during the 12-month period.
• For a period of twelve months following final approval of the settlement, Wells Fargo agrees to not use an Automated Valuation Model (“AVM”) to value its borrowers’ homes serving as security for their respective HELOCs that is older than 90 days in connection with any decision to suspend or reduce HELOCs.
• For a period of twelve months following final approval of the settlement, Wells Fargo will not make any material changes to its existing policies and procedures for suspending or reducing HELOCs based upon either a material adverse change in financial circumstances or a decline in the value of the property securing the HELOC, unless such changes are beneficial to borrowers. In addition, for a period of twelve months, Wells Fargo agrees not to make any material changes to its existing policies and procedures for reinstating borrowers whose HELOCs were restricted based upon either a material adverse change in financial circumstances or a decline in the value of the property securing the HELOC, whether reinstatement is considered proactively or based upon the borrower’s request, unless such changes are beneficial to borrowers.
• For a period of twelve months following final approval of the settlement, when borrowers whose accounts were suspended or reduced based upon a decline in the value of the property securing the HELOC request additional information about the suspension, reduction or reinstatement of their accounts, Wells Fargo will send such borrowers a letter that provides information that borrowers need to determine whether to apply for reinstatement.
• Former Customers who submit completed Claim Forms verifying (i) that the customer closed his or her HELOC account in response to Wells Fargo’s suspension or reduction of the account based upon a material adverse change in financial circumstances or a significant decline in the value of the property securing the HELOC and (ii) that the customer incurred a Deferred Origination Fee from Wells Fargo after closing the account shall be entitled to a set cash award equal to $150.00.

A final hearing on the Settlement or Fairness Hearing will be held to determine the fairness of the Wells Fargo Bank Class Action Settlement including Class Counsel’s request for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, and the incentive awards to the Class Representatives on April 26, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the United States Courthouse, Courtroom 2 – 4th Floor, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612.

For more information about the Wells Fargo Bank HELOC Home Equity Line of Credit class action settlement (including settlement class members’ rights, options and deadlines), contact the HELOC Claims Administrator at 1-866-459-0120 or visit the Wells Fargo class action settlement website:

www.helocsettlement.com

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