Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement

Kirt Banister v. The Farmers National Bank of Canfield d/b/a Farmers National Bank

Court of Common Pleas of Mahoning County, Ohio, case no. 2022 CV 00214

If you are or were an Ohio resident who was a checking account holder for Farmers and, from 2016 through August 25, 2023, were on the Farmers checking account: (1) assessed an overdraft fee on a debit card transaction that was authorized on sufficient funds and settled on negative funds in the same amount for which the debit card transaction was authorized (“APSN Fees”); or (2) assessed multiple fees on an item and/or retired item (“Retry Fees”); or (3) assessed fees as a result of a verification process for your account (“Verification Fees”), you may be a member of a proposed Settlement Class.

THIS NOTICE AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

• Kirt Banister has sued Farmers and has alleged that Farmers improperly charged overdraft fees or insufficient funds fees (“NSF Fees”) on APSN transactions, Retry transactions, and Verification transactions (the “Litigation”). Farmers denies all of these claims.

• The parties in the Litigation have negotiated a Settlement to resolve the Litigation.

• The Court concluded that the Settlement Agreement falls within the range of possible approval and therefore is preliminarily approved as being sufficient. Accordingly, the Court has authorized the dissemination of notice to each Settlement Class Member.
• The Court has not found that Farmers did anything wrong. It has certified a class for settlement purposes. The Court has conditionally approved a settlement, and Farmers’ records show that you may be entitled to receive notice of the lawsuit and to receive an award under the Settlement.
• Your legal rights are affected, and you have a choice to make now.

YOUR  LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS LAWSUIT
DO NOTHING	By doing nothing, you will be included in the Settlement. Farmers will make a settlement payment to eligible Class Members reflecting a pro rata share of the $785,000.00 Settlement Fund, after deducting Court-approved attorneys’ fees and expenses for counsel representing the Class and an incentive fee to Kirt Banister, and the costs of class notice and settlement administration. You will be losing your right to separately sue Farmers.
ASK TO BE EXCLUDED	If you ask to be excluded, you will not receive any money. However, you keep any rights to sue Farmers separately about the same legal claims in this lawsuit.
OBJECT	You may object to any aspect of the Settlement that you think is unfair without opting out of the Settlement.

• Your options are explained in this notice. To protect your legal rights, you must act before May 12, 2024.