Jeff Kaliel is a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and partner at Kaliel PLLC, a firm he has helped lead in consumer class-action litigation since 2017. A graduate of Yale Law School and a veteran of the Iraq War, Jeff Kaliel has represented consumers in disputes against major financial institutions, including a case against Bank of America that resulted in a $66 million settlement over extended overdraft fees. His work has also included litigation against Capital One, Arvest Bank, and other lenders, along with cases such as Eaton v. Bank of Oklahoma and Dornaus v. Best Buy Co. Recognized as a Washington, D.C. Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2015, Jeff Kaliel has helped millions of class action members recover hundreds of millions of dollars, building a reputation for holding financial institutions accountable for unlawful fee practices.
KalielGold PLLC, originally launched as Kaliel PLLC, is a Washington, D.C.-based plaintiff-side firm focused on consumer class-action litigation. Its founders include Jeffrey Kaliel, who before the firm’s launch represented consumers in Farrell v. Bank of America, a 2016 lawsuit challenging the bank’s extended overdraft fees. In 2017, Bank of America agreed to a $66.6 million settlement to resolve the case.
Farrell v. Bank of America centered on what the bank called “extended overdraft fees.” The lead plaintiff, Joanne Farrell, on behalf of class action members who were the bank’s customers, alleged that these extended overdraft fees were not service fees but rather interest on money they had used on overdrawn accounts. Hence, the plaintiff argued, the fees violated laws governing excessive interest rate charges.
Under the policy challenged in the lawsuit, the bank would initially charge a customer $35 when it cleared a transaction despite insufficient funds in an account. If the account remained overdrawn for five days, it imposed another $35 charge. It was the second $35 charge that the plaintiffs challenged. They alleged that the bank provided no additional service in exchange for it and characterized the fee instead as interest charged while the account remained overdrawn.
Farrell’s own account illustrated the plaintiffs’ argument. She was charged $35 after remaining overdrawn for five days while her negative balance ranged from $3.59 to $284.86. The lawsuit calculated that the charge represented an annualized interest rate ranging from 897 percent to 71,170 percent. The plaintiffs alleged that this violated the National Bank Act because, under their interpretation, Bank of America was subject to North Carolina’s 8 percent legal interest-rate limit.
Bank of America disputed the plaintiffs’ interpretation, maintaining that overdraft charges have traditionally been treated differently from interest payments. The bank argued that the fees were intended to discourage customers from maintaining negative balances rather than serve as charges for extending credit. The plaintiff, through their attorney, filed the suit at the US District Court for the Southern District of California.
Later, Bank of America agreed to settle the case. In November 2017, Reuters reported that Bank of America had agreed to a $66.6 million settlement covering nearly six million customers who had paid an extended overdraft fee since February 2014. The agreement was still subject to court approval at that stage.
Beyond the financial payment, the settlement agreement contained a significant change to Bank of America’s overdraft practices. The bank agreed to stop imposing extended overdraft fees for five years. According to attorneys representing the customers, the change would save account holders approximately $1.2 billion over that period.
The settlement brought the dispute to a resolution. The case, however, highlighted broader concerns about the cost of overdraft services and the financial burden such fees placed on consumers.
According to Kaliel PLLC, banks and credit unions often profit from the deceptive and unlawful exploitation of working people who are vulnerable. Litigation is a weapon to fight that injustice, giving all people a fair chance at financial success.
The firm undertakes overdraft fees litigation with a focus on how financial companies assess, multiply, and conceal fees. Its attorneys build cases through deep financial analysis, reading the fine print of bank and credit union disclosures and reviewing internal policies to uncover improper fee practices. It then files cases that not only seek to compensate those who have been wronged but also push for structural reform in banking.
Kaliel PLLC has been involved in several other successful class actions involving overdraft fee litigation. Two examples are Perks v. TD Bank and McNeil v. Capital One Bank. The former resulted in a $41 million settlement and the latter a $16 million settlement.
About Jeff Kaliel
Jeff Kaliel is a Washington, D.C. attorney and partner at Kaliel PLLC, where he has practiced consumer class-action litigation since 2017. A Yale Law School graduate and Iraq War veteran, he has represented plaintiffs in cases against major financial institutions, including Farrell v. Bank of America, which resulted in a $66 million settlement over extended overdraft fees. Super Lawyers recognized Jeff Kaliel as a Washington, D.C. Rising Star in 2015 for his work in the consumer financial services sector.
