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  • Michael Celso v. Lyons Bancorp Inc, Lyons National BankCommercial - Contract document preview
  • Michael Celso v. Lyons Bancorp Inc, Lyons National BankCommercial - Contract document preview
  • Michael Celso v. Lyons Bancorp Inc, Lyons National BankCommercial - Contract document preview
  • Michael Celso v. Lyons Bancorp Inc, Lyons National BankCommercial - Contract document preview
  • Michael Celso v. Lyons Bancorp Inc, Lyons National BankCommercial - Contract document preview
  • Michael Celso v. Lyons Bancorp Inc, Lyons National BankCommercial - Contract document preview
  • Michael Celso v. Lyons Bancorp Inc, Lyons National BankCommercial - Contract document preview
  • Michael Celso v. Lyons Bancorp Inc, Lyons National BankCommercial - Contract document preview
						
                                

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FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04:59 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 EXHIBIT A FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04:59 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF WAYNE ---------------------------------------------------------------------X MICHAEL CELSO, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, -against- LYONS BANCORP, INC. d/b/a Index No. ___________ THE LYONS NATIONAL BANK, JURY DEMAND Defendant. ---------------------------------------------------------------------X CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT Plaintiff, Michael Celso, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, by and through undersigned counsel, alleges: INTRODUCTION 1. This is a civil action seeking monetary damages, restitution, and injunctive and declaratory relief from Defendant, arising from its routine practices of assessing (1) Overdraft Fees (“OD Fees”) on transactions that did not actually overdraw checking accounts and (2) OD Fees on phantom transactions—where an accountholder never made a withdrawal request and where an account balance was never reduced. 2. These practices breach promises made in Defendant’s adhesion contract with its customers, attached hereto as Ex. A (the “Contract”). 3. Plaintiff and other customers of Defendant have been injured by Defendant’s improper fee maximization practices. Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of the classes of individuals preliminarily defined below, brings claims for Defendant’s breach of contract, 2 2 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 including the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and/or unjust enrichment, and violation of New York General Business Law § 349, et seq. PARTIES 4. Plaintiff is a citizen and resident of Walworth, New York. He has maintained a checking account with Defendant at all times relevant hereto. 5. Defendant is a bank with more than $1.7 billion in assets. Defendant maintains its headquarters and principal place of business in Lyons, New York. Among other things, Defendant is engaged in the business of providing retail banking services to consumers, including Plaintiff and members of the Classes, in this district. VENUE 6. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to New York Civil Law and Practice Law § 503(c) because Defendant’s principal place of business is in Wayne County, and the events or omissions giving rise to the claims asserted herein occurred and continue to occur in Wayne County. I. BACKGROUND FACTS 7. Overdraft fees and insufficient funds fees (“NSF fees”) are among the primary fee generators for banks. According to a banking industry market research company, Moebs Services, in 2018 alone, banks generated an estimated $34.5 billion from overdraft fees. Overdraft Revenue Inches Up in 2018, https://bit.ly/3cbHNKV. 8. Unfortunately, the customers who are assessed these fees are the most vulnerable customers. Younger, lower-income, and non-white account holders are among those who were more likely to be assessed overdraft fees. Overdrawn: Consumer Experiences with Overdraft, Pew Charitable Trusts 8 (June 2014), https://bit.ly/3ksKD0I. 3 3 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 9. Because of this, industry leaders like Bank of America, Capital One, Wells Fargo, Alliant, and Ally have made plans to end the assessment of OD or NSF fees entirely. See Hugh Son, Capital One to Drop Overdraft Fees for All Retail Banking Customers, NBC News (Dec. 1, 2021), https://nbcnews.to/3DKSu2R; Paul R. La Monica, Wells Fargo Ends Bounced Check Fees, CNN (Jan. 12, 2022), https://bit.ly/3iTAN9k. 10. In line with this industry trend, the New York Attorney General recently asked other industry leading banks to end the assessment of all OD Fees by the summer of 2022. NY Attorney General asks banks to end overdraft fees, Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, Reuters (April 6, 2022). 11. Through the imposition of these fees, Defendant has made substantial revenue to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, seeking to turn its customers’ financial struggles into revenue. II. DEFENDANT ASSESSES OD FEES ON TRANSACTIONS THAT DO NOT OVERDRAW THE ACCOUNT A. The Contract 12. The Contract states: You understand that we may, at our discretion, honor withdrawal requests that overdraw your account. However, the fact that we may honor withdrawal requests that overdraw the account balance does not obligate us to do so later. So you can NOT rely on us to pay overdrafts on your account regardless of how frequently or under what circumstances we have paid overdrafts on your account in the past. […] You agree that we may charge fees for overdrafts, except for overdrafts caused by ATM withdrawals or one-time debit card transactions if you have not opted-in to that service . . . . Ex. A at 3. 4 4 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 13. In breach of this promise, Defendant assesses OD Fees when a “withdrawal request” does not “overdraw” the “account.” 14. Because there is enough money in the account, no overdraft occurs. Yet, Defendant charges an OD fee anyway. B. Plaintiff’s Transactions 15. On April 30, 2021 Defendant charged Plaintiff a $36 fee on a purchase, even though, according to Defendant’s own account statements, the balance in the account was positive after the purchase. Indeed, even after Defendant assessed the $36 fee, Plaintiff’s account had a positive balance of $23.87. 16. The improper fee charged by Defendant was not an error by Defendant, but rather was an intentional charge made by Defendant as part of its standard processing of transactions. 17. Plaintiff therefore had no duty to report the fee as an error because it was not; instead, it was part of the systematic, improper and intentional assessment of fees according to Defendant’s standard practices. 18. Moreover, any such reporting would have been futile. III. DEFENDANT ASSESSES OD FEES AND NSF FEES ON PHANTOM TRANSACTIONS A. Overview of the Claim 19. Plaintiff further brings this action challenging Defendant’s practice of charging OD Fees and NSF Fees on phantom transactions—where accountholders never perform a debit or transaction and where the account balance is never overdrawn. 20. Several apps and websites, including Square, Airbnb, PayPal, and others, use a verification process to confirm the validity of a user’s bank account so that the user can then seamlessly send and receive payments. 5 5 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 21. As part of the account opening process, to verify a user’s bank account, these entities will deposit and immediately withdraw a tiny amount, usually between one cent and nine cents. This deposit and withdrawal process occurs virtually simultaneously and is designed solely to ensure the account is valid and the entity can communicate with the account by sending and then debiting a small amount to and from the account. 22. Importantly, no actual purchase or payment is involved, and there is no change to the account balance. 23. This bank account linking and verification process is instantaneous. Yet, Defendant splits this instantaneous process in order to increase fees it charges on accounts. 24. A bank like Defendant is notified and aware of this routine practice, just as it is aware and notified that an accountholder has made no purchase, debit or transaction when third parties merely verify a consumer’s account with this method. 25. Plaintiff signed up for an account with SmartPay Rewards, a service that allows customers to save 10 cents per gallon on gas. SmartPay Rewards uses a service called ZipLine to “validate[] [an] enrolled bank account information to ensure that [SmartPay Rewards] ha[s] the correct account number.”1 26. ZipLine’s FAQ page states that it submits a deposit and withdrawal to a customer’s bank account to confirm the validity of the account. Id. 27. On May 19, 2021, the ZipLine service put this verification process into motion, with the sole and exclusive intent to verify that the Plaintiff’s account was valid and active. To do this, it made an instantaneous deposit and withdrawal. No purchase or transaction was made by the Plaintiff and no change to their account balance occurred. 1 See Zipline **FAQ** (https://secure.paymentcard.com/faq1.php). 6 6 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 28. Nonetheless, Defendant charged Plaintiff a $36 OD Fee when it debited the withdrawal had been deposited immediately prior. 29. As further examples, Defendant also charged OD Fees on a phantom transactions on December 7, 2020 (validation from VENMO) and December 9, 2020 (validation from Square Inc.). 30. These OD Fees assessment violated Defendant’s Contract. IV. The Imposition of These Improper Fees Breaches Defendant’s Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing. 31. Parties to a contract are required not only to adhere to the express conditions in the contract, but also to act in good faith when they are invested with a discretionary power over the other party. This creates an implied promise to act in accordance with the parties’ reasonable expectations and means that Defendant is prohibited from exercising its discretion to enrich itself and gouge its customers. Indeed, Defendant has a duty to honor payment requests in a way that is fair to Plaintiff and its other customers and is prohibited from exercising its discretion to pile on ever greater penalties on the depositor. 32. Here—in the adhesion agreements Defendant foisted on Plaintiff and its other customers—Defendant has provided itself numerous discretionary powers affecting customers’ accounts. But instead of exercising that discretion in good faith and consistent with consumers’ reasonable expectations, Defendant abuses that discretion to take money out of consumers’ accounts without their permission and contrary to their reasonable expectations. 33. When Defendant charges these improper fees, it uses its discretion to define the meaning of key terms in a way that violates common sense and reasonable consumer expectations. Defendant uses its contractual discretion to define those terms to choose a meaning that directly causes more fees. 7 7 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 34. In addition, Defendant exercises its discretion in its own favor and to the prejudice of Plaintiff and its other customers when assesses the improper fees as alleged herein. Further, Defendant abuses the power it has over customers and their bank accounts and acts contrary to their reasonable expectations under the Contract. This is a breach of Defendant’s duty to engage in fair dealing and to act in good faith. 35. It was bad faith and totally outside of Plaintiff’s reasonable expectations for Defendant to use its discretion to assess these improper fees. CLASS ALLEGATIONS 36. Plaintiff brings this action on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated pursuant to NY CPLR § 901 on behalf of the following Class. 37. The proposed Class is defined as: The Overdraft Fee Class: All accountholders who, during the applicable statute of limitations, were Defendant checking account holders and were charged overdraft fees on transactions that did not overdraw their checking. The Phantom Transactions Class: All accountholders who, during the applicable statute of limitations, were Defendant checking account holders and were charged an overdraft fee or an NSF fee as a result of a verification process on their accounts that resulted in no change to their account balances. 38. Plaintiff reserves the right to modify or amend the definition of the proposed Classes before the Court determines whether certification is appropriate. 39. Excluded from the Classes are Defendant, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, legal representatives, successors, and assigns; any entity in which Defendant has a controlling interest; all customers members who make a timely election to be excluded; governmental entities; and all judges assigned to hear any aspect of this litigation, as well as their immediate family members. 8 8 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 40. The time period for the Classes is the number of years immediately preceding the date on which this Complaint was filed as allowed by the applicable statute of limitations, going forward into the future until such time as Defendant remedies the conduct complained of herein. 41. Numerosity. The members of the Classes are so numerous that joinder is impractical. The Classes consist of thousands of members, the identities of whom are within the exclusive knowledge of Defendant and can be readily ascertained only by resort to Defendant’s records. 42. Typicality. The claims of the representative Plaintiff are typical of the claims of the Classes in that the representative Plaintiff, like all members of the Classes, has been damaged by Defendant’s misconduct in that he has been assessed unlawful overdraft fees. Furthermore, the factual basis of Defendant’s misconduct is common to all members of the Classes and represents a common thread of unlawful and unauthorized conduct resulting in injury to all members of the Classes. Plaintiff has suffered the harm alleged and has no interests antagonistic to the interests of any other members of the Classes. 36. Commonality. There are numerous questions of law and fact common to the Classes and those common questions predominate over any questions affecting only individual members of the Classes. 37. Among the questions of law and fact common to the Classes include: a. Whether Defendant imposed OD Fees on transactions that did not overdraw checking accounts; b. Whether Defendant imposed OD Fees and/or NSF Fees on phantom transactions; c. Whether these practices breach the Contract; d. Whether Defendant breached its covenant of good faith and fair dealing through its fee policies and practices as described herein; 9 9 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 e. Whether Defendant was unjustly enriched as a result of these fee assessment practices; f. Whether Defendant violated the New York General Business Law § 349, et seq.; g. The proper method or methods by which to measure damages; and h. The declaratory and injunctive relief to which the Classes are entitled. 38. Plaintiff is committed to the vigorous prosecution of this action and has retained competent counsel experienced in the prosecution of class actions, particularly on behalf of consumers and against financial institutions. Accordingly, Plaintiff is an adequate representative and will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the Classes. 39. Superiority. A class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of this controversy. Since the amount of each individual class member’s claim is small relative to the complexity of the litigation, no class member could afford to seek legal redress individually for the claims alleged herein. Therefore, absent a class action, the members of the Classes will continue to suffer losses and Defendant’s misconduct will proceed without remedy. 40. Even if class members themselves could afford such individual litigation, the court system could not. Given the complex legal and factual issues involved, individualized litigation would significantly increase the delay and expense to all parties and to the Court. Individualized litigation would also create the potential for inconsistent or contradictory rulings. By contrast, a class action presents far fewer management difficulties, allows for the consideration of claims which might otherwise go unheard because of the relative expense of bringing individual lawsuits, and provides the benefits of adjudication, economies of scale, and comprehensive supervision by a single court. 10 10 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 41. Plaintiff suffers a substantial risk of repeated injury in the future. Plaintiff, like all Class members, is at risk of additional improper fees. Plaintiff and the Class members are entitled to injunctive and declaratory relief as a result of the conduct complained of herein. Money damages alone could not afford adequate and complete relief, and injunctive relief is necessary to restrain Defendant from continuing to commit its unfair and illegal actions. CAUSE OF ACTION ONE Breach of Contract, Including Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (On Behalf of Plaintiff and the Overdraft Fee Class) 42. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference all the foregoing allegations as if they were fully set forth herein. 43. Plaintiff and Defendant have contracted for bank account services, as embodied in the Contract. 44. All contracts entered by Plaintiff and the Overdraft Fee Class are identical or substantively identical because Defendant’s form contracts were used uniformly. 45. Defendant has breached the express terms of its own agreements as described herein. 46. Under New York law, good faith is an element of every contract between financial institutions and their customers because banks and credit unions are inherently in a superior position to their checking account holders and, from this superior vantage point, they offer customers contracts of adhesion, often with terms not readily discernible to a layperson. 47. Good faith and fair dealing means preserving the spirit—not merely the letter—of the bargain. Put differently, the parties to a contract are mutually obligated to comply with the substance of their contract in addition to its form. Evading the spirit of the bargain and abusing the power to specify terms constitute examples of bad faith in the performance of contracts. 11 11 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 48. Subterfuge and evasion violate the obligation of good faith in performance even when an actor believes their conduct to be justified. Bad faith may be overt or may consist of inaction, and fair dealing may require more than honesty. Examples of bad faith are evasion of the spirit of the bargain and abuse of a power to specify terms. 49. Defendant abused the discretion it granted to itself when it charged fees when transactions did not overdraw checking accounts. 50. Defendant also abused the discretion it granted to itself by defining key terms in a manner that is contrary to reasonable account holders’ expectations. 51. In these and other ways, Defendant violated its duty of good faith and fair dealing. 52. Defendant willfully engaged in the foregoing conduct for the purpose of (1) gaining unwarranted contractual and legal advantages; and (2) unfairly and unconscionably maximizing fee revenue from Plaintiff and other members of the Class. 53. Plaintiff and members of the Class have performed all, or substantially all, of the obligations imposed on them under the agreements. 54. Plaintiff and members of the Class have sustained damages as a result of Defendant’s breaches of contract, including breaches of contract through violations of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. 55. Plaintiff and the members of the Class are entitled to injunctive relief to prevent Defendant from continuing to engage in the foregoing conduct. CAUSE OF ACTION TWO Breach of Contract, Including Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (On Behalf of Plaintiff and the Phantom Transaction Class) 56. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference all the foregoing allegations as if they were fully set forth herein. 12 12 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 57. Plaintiff and Defendant have contracted for bank account services, as embodied in the Contract. 58. All contracts entered by Plaintiff and the Overdraft Fee Class are identical or substantively identical because Defendant’s form contracts were used uniformly. 59. Defendant has breached the express terms of its own agreements as described herein. 60. Under New York law, good faith is an element of every contract between financial institutions and their customers because banks and credit unions are inherently in a superior position to their checking account holders and, from this superior vantage point, they offer customers contracts of adhesion, often with terms not readily discernible to a layperson. 61. Good faith and fair dealing means preserving the spirit—not merely the letter—of the bargain. Put differently, the parties to a contract are mutually obligated to comply with the substance of their contract in addition to its form. Evading the spirit of the bargain and abusing the power to specify terms constitute examples of bad faith in the performance of contracts. 62. Subterfuge and evasion violate the obligation of good faith in performance even when an actor believes their conduct to be justified. Bad faith may be overt or may consist of inaction, and fair dealing may require more than honesty. Examples of bad faith are evasion of the spirit of the bargain and abuse of a power to specify terms. 63. Defendant abused the discretion it granted to itself when it charged fees on phantom transactions. 64. Defendant also abused the discretion it granted to itself by defining key terms in a manner that is contrary to reasonable account holders’ expectations. 65. In these and other ways, Defendant violated its duty of good faith and fair dealing. 13 13 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 66. Defendant willfully engaged in the foregoing conduct for the purpose of (1) gaining unwarranted contractual and legal advantages; and (2) unfairly and unconscionably maximizing fee revenue from Plaintiff and other members of the Class. 67. Plaintiff and members of the Class have performed all, or substantially all, of the obligations imposed on them under the agreements. 68. Plaintiff and members of the Class have sustained damages as a result of Defendant’s breaches of contract, including breaches of contract through violations of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. 69. Plaintiff and the members of the Class are entitled to injunctive relief to prevent Defendant from continuing to engage in the foregoing conduct. CAUSE OF ACTION THREE Unjust Enrichment (On behalf of Plaintiff and the Classes) 70. Plaintiff incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth below. 71. Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of the Classes, asserts a common law claim for unjust enrichment. This claim is brought solely in the alternative to Plaintiff’s breach of contract claims and applies only if the parties’ contracts are deemed unconscionable or otherwise unenforceable for any reason. In such circumstances, unjust enrichment will dictate that Defendant disgorge all improperly assessed fees. 72. Plaintiff and members of the Classes conferred a benefit on Defendant at the expense of Plaintiff and members of the Classes when they paid improper fees. 73. Defendant appreciated this benefit in the form of the substantial revenue that Defendant generates from the imposition of such fees. 14 14 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 74. Defendant has accepted and retained such fees under inequitable and unjust circumstances. 75. Defendant should not be allowed to profit or enrich itself inequitably and unjustly at the expense of Plaintiff and the members of the Classes and should be required to make restitution to Plaintiff and members of the Classes. CAUSE OF ACTION FOUR Violations of New York General Business Law § 349, et seq. (On Behalf of Plaintiff and the Classes) 76. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs. 77. Defendant’s improper fee practices as alleged herein violates New York Business Law § 349 (“NYGBL § 349). 78. NYGBL § 349 prohibits deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any business, trade, or commerce, or in the furnishing of any service in the state of New York. 79. Defendant is headquartered in New York and has multiple banking locations in New York. Accordingly, Defendant conducts business, trade, or commerce in New York State. 80. In the conduct of its business, trade, and commerce, and in furnishing services in New York State, Defendant’s actions were directed at consumers. 81. In the conduct of its business, trade, and commerce, and in furnishing service in New York State, Defendant engaged in deceptive, unfair, and unlawful trade, acts or practices, in violation of NYGBL § 349(a), including but not limited to the following: a. Defendant misrepresented material facts pertaining to the sale and/or furnishing of banking services to Plaintiff and the Classes that it would not charge fees on phantom transactions and that it would not charge fees when transactions did not overdraw checking accounts; 15 15 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 b. Defendant omitted, suppressed, and concealed the material fact that it would charge more than one fee on an item; 82. Defendant systematically engaged in these deceptive, misleading, and unlawful acts and practices, to the detriment of Plaintiff and members of the class. 83. Defendant willfully engaged in such acts and practices and knew that it violated NYGBL § 349 or showed reckless disregard for whether it violated NYGBL § 349. 84. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s deceptive banking practices, Plaintiff and members of the Classes suffered injury and/or damages, including the payment of deceptive fees, as described herein, and the loss of the benefit of their respective bargains with Defendant. 85. The unfair and deceptive practices by Defendant, as described herein, were immoral, unethical, oppressive, and unscrupulous. These acts cause substantial injury to consumers that these consumers could not reasonably avoid; this substantial injury outweighed any benefits to consumers or competition. 86. Further, Defendant’s conduct was substantially injurious to Plaintiff and members of the putative Classes in that they were forced to pay fees they were told they would not incur. 87. Defendant’s actions in engaging in the above-described unfair practices and deceptive acts were negligent, knowing and willful, and/or wanton and reckless with respect to the rights of the members of the Plaintiff and putative Classes. 88. Had Plaintiff and members of the putative Classes known they could be charged the above-described deceptive fees, they would have attempted to avoid incurring such fees. 89. As a result of Defendant’s violations of NYGBL § 349, Plaintiff and the putative Classes have suffered and will continue to suffer actual damages. 16 16 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 90. Accordingly, Plaintiff and the members of the putative Classes are entitled to relief under NYGBL § 349(h), including, but not limited to, actual damages, treble damages, statutory damages, injunctive relief, and/or attorneys’ fees and costs. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, Plaintiff and members of the Classes demand a jury trial on all claims so triable and judgment as follows: a. Certification for this matter to proceed as a class action; b. Designation of Plaintiff as the Class Representative and designation of the undersigned as Class Counsel; c. Restitution of all improper fees paid to Defendant by Plaintiff and the Classes because of the wrongs alleged herein in an amount to be determined at trial; d. Declaring Defendant’s fee policies and practices alleged in this Complaint to be wrongful to the extent they are inconsistent with the contract; e. Enjoining Defendant from engaging in the practices outlined herein so long as they remain inconsistent with the contract; f. Actual damages in amount according to proof; g. Pre- and post-judgment interest at the maximum rate permitted by applicable law; h. Costs and disbursements assessed by Plaintiff in connection with this action, including reasonable attorneys’ fees pursuant to applicable law; and i. Such other relief as the Court deems just and proper. JURY DEMAND Plaintiff, by counsel, demands trial by jury. 17 17 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 Respectfully submitted, . /s/ _James J. Bilsborrow______ WEITZ & LUXENBERG, PC 700 Broadway New York, NY 10003 Telephone: (212) 558-5500 jbilsborrow@weitzlux.com JOHNSON FIRM Christopher D. Jennings* Tyler B. Ewigleben* 610 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 300 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Telephone: (501) 372-1300 chris@yourattorney.com tyler@yourattorney.com * Pro Hac Vice applications to be submitted Counsel for Plaintiff and the Proposed Classes 18 18 of 18 FILED: WAYNE COUNTY CLERK 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 04:59 07:19 PM INDEX NO. CV089534 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 7 2 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/22/2023 04/27/2023 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OFYOURACCOUNT AGREEMENT - Thisdocument, along with any other documents we give you pertaining to your account(s), is a contract that establishes rules which control your account(s) with us. Please read this carefully and retain it for future reference. If you sign the signature card or open or continue to use the account, you agree to these rules. You will receive a separate schedule of rates, qualifying balances, and fees if they are not included in this document. If you have any questions, please call us. This agreement is subject to applicable federal laws, the laws of the state of New York and other applicable rules such as the operating letters of the Federal Reserve Banks and payment processing system rules (except to the extent that this agreement can and does vary such rules or laws). The body of state and federal law that governs our relationship with you, however, is too large and complex to be reproduced here. The purpose of this document is to: (1) summarize some laws that apply to common transactions; (2) establish rules to cover transactions or events which the law does not regulate; (3) establish rules for certain transactions or events which the law regulates but permits variation by agreement; and (4) give you disclosures of some of our policies to which you may be entitled or in which you may be interested. If any provision of this document is found to be unenforceable according to its terms, all remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. We may permit some variations from our standard agreement, but we must agree to any variation in writing either on the signature,card for your account or in some other document. "we" As used in this document the words "us" "our", and mean the financial institution