Portland, OR: former jail inmates nationwide who suffered extra fees and charges after their confiscated money was returned on debit cards would receive $3.8 million.
A mediator helped settle the class-action case, scheduled for trial in Portland in October.
The national class includes former inmates who received a fee-bearing debit card from Stored Value Cards, commonly known as Numi Financial, and Central National Bank and Trust Co. without asking for one. The cards usually showed the amount of money confiscated when they entered jail or the amount remained on their books before release.
The plaintiff, Danica L. Brown, was jailed in Portland during a 2014 demonstration and claimed the jail took $30.97 in cash. After her release, she received a Numi Financial MasterCard debit card.
Brown received the card with the same amount confiscated, but she quickly discovered service fees: a $5.95 monthly maintenance charge was deducted five days thereafter, and she was charged 95 cents for a failed purchase due to insufficient funds. She lost 22%, or $6.97, of the card’s worth.
Despite not being convicted, Brown sued Numi Financial on behalf of all freed inmates who paid card fees.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived the case after a district court dismissed it.
In 2020, the federal appellate court ruled that “Numi is entitled to fair compensation for its services, but that does not mean that it should be able without restriction to provide cards to released inmates who have not asked for them and who are likely to end up with less money than was taken
July saw a national class certified by the U.S. District Court in Portland after the case returned.
Central National Bank and Trust Co. will pay $2.8 million and Numi $1 million under the proposed settlement awaiting a judge’s approval.
Numi told attorneys during mediation that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and offered to pay $1 million in $100,000 semi-annual payments over five years.
The settlement requires “sufficient information” about Numi’s cash flow, operating expenses, and debt, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. According to court documents, plaintiff lawyers might reject the deal if Numi cannot pay more.