Baron & Budd Cautions Wells Fargo Against Conditioning Auto Loan Customer Refunds on Waiver of Legal Rights

Business Wire

Letter delivered to bank’s general counsel warns against coercive communications with putative class members

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The national law firm of Baron & Budd has placed Wells Fargo on notice, via C. Allen Parker, Esq., the bank’s Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel, that the Firm will seek immediate relief if the bank attempts to condition any refunds to auto loan customers improperly charged for auto insurance on those customers’ waiver or release of any legal rights whatsoever.

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On July 30, Baron & Budd filed the first lawsuit concerning the revelation that Wells Fargo charged more than 800,000 unsuspecting auto loan customers for auto insurance they did not want or need. The firm filed the case in U.S. District Court in San Francisco (Paul Hancock v. Wells Fargo & Company et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-04324).

“In light of media reports indicating that Wells Fargo intends to refund insurance premiums paid by certain customers, as well as the bank’s track record of trying to force customers into private arbitration, we felt it necessary to caution the bank that unilateral communications from a class opponent to the class may be considered coercive and require court supervision,” said Roland Tellis, head of the Consumer Class Action group at the national law firm of Baron & Budd. “Wells Fargo has now been put on notice that any attempt to condition refunds on a customer's waiver or release of any legal rights will be met with vigorous opposition.”

In addition to notifying the bank to refrain from conditioning refunds, the letter instructs Wells Fargo to preserve all documents, tangible things and electronically-stored information potentially relevant to the case. The letter also includes a reminder that the destruction of evidence when litigation is anticipated or has commenced has both civil and criminal implications.

If you or someone you know obtained a car loan from Wells Fargo and were charged for unnecessary or unwanted auto insurance as a result, you may be entitled to compensation. Please call 866-700-8994 if you would like more information.

ABOUT BARON & BUDD, P.C.

The law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C., with offices in Dallas, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Austin, Los Angeles, and San Diego, is a nationally recognized law firm with a nearly 40-year history of "Protecting What's Right" for people, communities and businesses harmed by negligence. Baron & Budd's size and resources enable the firm to take on large and complex cases. The firm represents individuals and government and business entities in areas as diverse as dangerous pharmaceuticals and medical devices, environmental contamination, the Gulf oil spill, financial fraud, overtime violations, deceptive advertising, automotive defects, trucking accidents, nursing home abuse, and asbestos-related illnesses such as mesothelioma.