This lawsuit claims that Wells Fargo unlawfully discriminated against DACA recipients by making them ineligible for student loans, unsecured credit cards, unsecured personal loans, secured and unsecured small business loans, and mortgages. This settlement obtained different relief for people who lived in California and applied for a student loan, unsecured credit card, unsecured personal loan, or home mortgage at the time their application was denied (the “California Class”) and everyone else (the “Nationwide Class”), due to the different protections available under California and federal laws.

Wells Fargo denies Plaintiffs’ claims and maintains that its policies complied with the law.

The Parties have now settled this lawsuit and a Settlement Administrator has sent this notice. In connection with this settlement, Wells Fargo has agreed to change its lending policies to make DACA recipients eligible for credit and loans and to make cash payments to members of the California Class and the Nationwide Class.

Fargo’s records show that you (1) submitted one or more applications to Fargo for a student loan, unsecured credit card, secured or unsecured small business loan, unsecured personal loan, or home mortgage (during the time period covered by this case); (2) had a U.S. address at the time of each application; (3) had a valid Social Security number at the time of each application(s); and (4) were denied at least one of these credit products under certain denial codes related to citizenship or residency status. Fargo’s records do not indicate who had DACA at the time of these credit applications, which means that you and others receiving this notice may or may not have DACA, and those who do have DACA will need to demonstrate that they do to receive one or more cash payments.

The Court ordered that you be sent this notice because the proposed settlement may apply to you and you have a right to know about it and all your options before the Court decides whether to approve the settlement.

In a class action, one or more people called “Class Representatives” sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All those people together are the “Class” or “Class Members.” The Class Representatives and Class Members together are the “Plaintiffs,” and in this case Wells Fargo is the “Defendant.” One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class.

The Court did not decide in either Plaintiffs’ or Defendant’s favor. Both sides believe they would have won this lawsuit, but there was no ruling in favor of either party. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement, which avoids the costs, delays, and uncertainties associated with a trial, and ensures that you and other Class Members get a payment. Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs’ lawyers think the settlement is the best result for all Class Members and that the terms and conditions of the settlement are fair, reasonable, and adequate.

You are a member of the Nationwide Class if you resided in anywhere in the United States other than California as noted in Wells Fargo’s records and had valid, unexpired DACA status at the time you applied to and were denied at least one unsecured credit card, secured or unsecured small business loan, student loan, or unsecured personal loan between January 30, 2015 and August 21, 2020, or for home mortgage, between January 29, 2018 and August 21, 2020.

You are a member of the California Class if you resided in California as noted in Wells Fargo’s records and had valid, unexpired DACA status at the time you applied to and were denied at least one unsecured credit card, student loan, or unsecured personal loan between January 30, 2015 and August 21, 2020, or for home mortgage, between January 29, 2018 and August 21, 2020.

If you do not have DACA now and did not have DACA in the past, you are not a Class Member, and your rights are not affected by this settlement.

If you are not sure whether you qualify as a Class Member, you can contact the Settlement Administrator at perezinfo@WFDACALawsuit.com or 1-877-313-0213.

The Settlement provides cash payments and changes to Wells Fargo’s lending policies. First, Wells Fargo has agreed to change its lending policies so that DACA recipients are eligible for student loans, unsecured credit cards, unsecured personal loans, secured and unsecured small business loans, and home mortgages on the same terms and conditions as those loans and credit are offered to U.S. citizens and permanent residents as long as there is an appropriate product. In other words, Wells Fargo will not consider whether an applicant has DACA in deciding whether to offer credit.

Second, Wells Fargo has agreed to make cash payments to Class Members who timely submit a Verified Claim Form. The number of cash payments will be based on each Class Member’s number of applications and denials in the relevant time periods for the types of loans and credit described above that are contained in Wells Fargo’s credit application databases.

Nationwide Class Members: Wells Fargo has agreed to pay Nationwide Class Members (i.e., those outside California) who timely submit a Verified Claim Form up to $100 for each eligible credit denial, for a maximum Settlement Fund of $500,000 and a minimum Settlement Fund of $50,000 for the Nationwide Class. In other words, for Nationwide Class Members, the payment amount per claim will start at $100 and will decrease if the number of claims exceeds 5,000. For example, if individuals submit 6,000 claims, the payment amount per claim will be $83.33 (i.e., the capped amount of $500,000 divided by 6,000).

California Class Members: Wells Fargo has also agreed to pay California Class Members who timely submit a Verified Claim Form up to $2,500 for each denial of credit between January 30, 2015 and August 21, 2020. The settlement will be funded based on how many claims are submitted via Verified Claim Forms, as follows:

• For the first 2,000 Verified Claimants from the California Class, Wells Fargo will add $2,500 per claim to the fund up to $5,000,000.
• For the next 3,000 Verified Claimants from the California Class, Wells Fargo will add $2,000 per claim to the fund up to $6,000,000.
• For the next 2,000 Verified Claimants from the California Class, Wells Fargo will add $800 per claim to the fund up to $1,600,000.

In other words, for California Class Members, the payment amount per claim (for each denial of credit) will start at $2,500 for each claim and will decrease if the number of claims exceeds the total amounts above. For example, if individuals submit 4,000 claims, the cash payment for each claim will be $2,250 (i.e., (2,000 x $2,500) plus (2,000 x $2,000), all divided by 4,000). If individuals submit 7,000 claims, the cash payment for each claim will be $1,800 (i.e., (2,000 x $2,500) plus (3,000 x $2,000) plus (2,000 x $800), all divided by 7,000).

Settlement Floor and Ceiling and Cy Pres: The maximum amount in the Settlement Funds for both classes is $12.6 million. The minimum Settlement Funds is $4.75 million, regardless of the number of claimants. If the total amount of cash payments does not reach $4.75 million, the difference in the total amount of cash payments and $4.75 million will be split evenly and distributed to TheDream.US and UnidosUS, two nonprofits that support and advocate for DACA recipients’ civic engagement, civil rights and immigration, education, workforce and the economy, health, and housing.

Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, Service Awards, and Settlement Administration: Wells Fargo has also agreed to pay an additional amount of up to $5,000,000 to cover Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees and costs, $25,000 each in service awards to the six named Plaintiffs (to $150,000 in total), and $450,000 to cover the cost of administering the settlement.

The deadline to file a Claim Form was November 24, 2020 and has passed. 

The Court will hold a hearing on January 8, 2021, to decide whether to approve the settlement. If the judge approves the settlement, and there are no appeals, we estimate that checks will be mailed around May 2021. However, because it is always possible for there to be unexpected delays or appeals, it is possible that the payments will be delayed by a year or more, or that an appeals court will determine that the payments cannot be made.

We will provide regular updates of the status of the Settlement on this website. If your contact information changes, please submit your new contact information to the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel via this website.

If the Court grants final approval of the settlement, all Class Members who did not opt out of the Settlement are giving up (also called “releasing”) their right to sue Wells Fargo for discrimination in connection with a denial of the types of credit described above due to their lack of U.S. citizenship or immigration status. This release includes, but is not limited to, claims under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Unruh Act. Both California and Nationwide Class Members will give up these rights whether or not they chose to submit a Verified Claim Form.

The Court has decided that the lawyers at Outten & Golden LLP and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (“MALDEF”) are qualified to represent you and all Class Members. These lawyers have been designated as “Class Counsel” based on a determination that they are capable and experienced in handling complex discrimination class actions.

You can contact Class Counsel at:

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve payment of up to $5,000,000 for their attorneys’ fees and costs. The Court may award less than these requested amounts.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the settlement was November 24, 2020 and has passed.

The deadline to object to the settlement was November 24, 2020 and has passed.

The Court will hold a fairness hearing to decide whether to approve the settlement. You may attend and you may ask to speak, but you do not have to.

The Court will hold the fairness hearing at January 8, 2021 at 9:00 a.m., at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, in Courtroom 7 on the 19th Floor. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, the fairness hearing may be conducted telephonically or virtually. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court will listen to people who wish to speak at the hearing, if any. The Court may also decide how much to pay Class Counsel and the Representatives. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take. The fairness hearing may be postponed without further notice to the Class. If you plan to attend the hearing, you should check this website or the Court’s PACER site at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov to confirm that the date has not been changed.

No. Class Counsel represent you and will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send a comment (including an objection), you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you submitted it on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it’s not necessary.

The deadline to file a Notice of Intention to Appear at the Fairness Hearing was November 24, 2020 and has passed.

You cannot speak at the hearing if you have opted out or excluded yourself, because the case no longer affects you.

This Notice is intended to be a summary of the terms of the Settlement. The Settlement Agreement, Court Documents, and Class Notice are all available here.

You may also obtain this information by contacting the Settlement Administrator at 1-877-313-0213, class counsel at Outten & Golden LLP at (415) 638-8800, or by accessing the Court docket in this case through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov.

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT OR THE CLAIM PROCESS.