Golomb & Honik, P.C., a Philadelphia based class action law firm, has announced that Discover Financial Services and J.P. Morgan Chase have agreed to pay $13.5 million on behalf of the States of Hawaii, Mississippi and New Mexico as a result of the deceptive marketing of their credit card payment protection plans. These settlements follow the resolution of five class actions totaling more than $130 million with some of the largest banks and credit card companies worldwide. Golomb & Honik attorneys Richard Golomb, Ruben Honik, Kenneth Grunfeld and Kevin Fay served with co-counsel and each state’s attorney general in these cases.
Discover Financial Services will pay $6.6 million and J.P. Morgan Chase will pay $6.9 million divided amongst the states.
The Complaint filed by the Attorney General offices alleged the banks engaged in misleading and deceptive tactics in enrolling some customers into their payment protection without their knowledge and in enrolling others for a monthly fee knowing that the customer could not make a successful claim due to various and wide ranging exclusions. The banks have denied the allegations.
“These settlements send the message to large banks and credit card companies that it is no longer business as usual in the way they take advantage of customers,” said Richard Golomb, managing shareholder of Golomb & Honik and counsel in all of the Attorney General and class action cases. ”These Attorneys General recognized that what these corporations were doing was wrong and fought to correct that wrong for their constituents. It was a pleasure working with them.”
Other cases against major banks and credit card companies remain pending.
