Settled, paying · closes September 14, 2026
The SunTrust overdraft fee case in Georgia and who can still file
Last checked July 26, 2026
Bickerstaff v. SunTrust Bank has been fully approved and the administrator is accepting claims through September 14, 2026. The case covers Georgia residents who paid overdraft fees on ATM or debit card transactions of $500 or less between July 12, 2006 and April 15, 2014.
The plaintiffs argued that those overdraft fees worked as interest on a short-term loan, and at the rates charged they broke Georgia's usury laws. SunTrust denied that and settled anyway, creating a $240 million fund.
No paperwork is required. If you had a qualifying SunTrust account in Georgia, you can file online with the ID and PIN from your mailed notice, or without them.
The usury theory behind the case
Georgia caps what a lender can charge for interest. The lawsuit, filed in the State Court of Fulton County under case number 10EV010485, said an overdraft fee on a small debit purchase amounted to a loan of a few dollars at an enormous annualized rate. SunTrust's position was that a fee is a fee, not interest.
The case was filed in 2010 and took 16 years to resolve. The class definition tracks that history: you need to have held a SunTrust deposit account that was still open on June 1, 2010, and to have lived in Georgia continuously from July 12, 2010 through October 6, 2017.
Current status
- Final approval granted May 26, 2026, by the State Court of Fulton County.
- Claim deadline September 14, 2026, online or by mailed paper form.
- Payments are calculated from the overdraft fees you actually paid in the class period, plus 7% simple interest per year through December 31, 2025.
- The administrator's estimate of individual payments runs from $5 to $1,000.
Filing with the administrator
The settlement administrator runs SunTrustOverdraftClassAction.com. Notices went to the address SunTrust had on file, with a Unique ID and PIN that pull up your account. If no notice reached you, the site still lets you complete a claim form from scratch or print one to mail.
After you submit, the administrator matches your claim to SunTrust's transaction records and works out your fee total. Payment follows the claim deadline and any final accounting. Filing is free on the administrator's site, and it is free through Payout as well; neither route takes anything from your payment.
Questions about the SunTrust Bank Overdraft Fee case
Do I need to prove the overdraft fees I paid?
No. The administrator uses SunTrust's own records to calculate fees paid in the class period, so no bank statements are required.
I moved out of Georgia. Am I still covered?
Only if you lived in Georgia continuously from July 12, 2010 through October 6, 2017. Residency outside that window does not matter.
What if I never got a notice in the mail?
You can still file. The claim site accepts forms without a Unique ID and PIN, and paper forms can be mailed to the administrator.
Has the court finished with this case?
Yes. Final approval came on May 26, 2026, so claims are being accepted now with no hearing left to wait on.
There are more like this open right now
Payout tracks the whole docket and files the settled ones you qualify for. Free.