Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel

Difficulties in Building a Class for a Class Action Suit

Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel is an attorney and partner at Kaliel, PLLC in Washington. A graduate of Yale Law School, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel has built a career centered around class action litigation and has worked as lead counsel in numerous nationwide lawsuits, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars of restitution for class members.

To successfully litigate a class-action lawsuit, it is important to enroll the right number and type of clients into the class. Engaging with the right people in this process can be challenging. Reaching specific people harmed by a nationwide practice while excluding those who don’t specifically qualify takes creativity and resourcefulness.

Another challenge is convincing people of the class that it is in their best interest to participate in the class action. Some people distrust the entire process of class actions and have been led to believe it benefits litigators more than the affected class. Combating this perception is yet another hurdle in finding class action plaintiffs who are willing to take part in the proceedings.

What You Should Know About Class Action Lawsuits

A class action litigator in Washington, DC, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel serves as a partner at Kaliel, PLLC. At his firm, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel focuses on handling consumer class action suits, and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients.

Class action lawsuits make for great news stories and are frequently in headlines, yet many people don’t actually understand such lawsuits and what they can mean. Here are a few must-know facts about class action suits:

There’s strength in numbers.
While there isn’t a set number of plaintiffs that class action lawsuits must have, larger numbers do have more power. Courts prefer moving class action cases with hundreds of plaintiffs through the legal system more efficiently, and these cases have a higher chance of ending positively for the plaintiffs.

The payout is sometimes small.
There are many class action cases where large corporations have settled for millions or hundreds of millions of dollars, but that doesn’t mean plaintiffs will all get huge payouts for their issues. Rather, the individual payout amount depends on the number of plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit.

Plaintiffs lose some of their rights.
Joining a class action lawsuit can be attractive for people, since it splits legal costs and can increase their chances of success. By joining such a suit, however,, plaintiffs forfeit their rights to pursue legal action individually. For many, this isn’t important, but some individuals may be capable of obtaining a more meaningful court victory if they file suits alone.

What is a Boutique Law Firm?

Attorney Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel of Washington, D.C. is widely recognized for his work in defending plaintiffs involved in class action lawsuits related to predatory banking practices. In 2018, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel opened a boutique law practice with his partner, which focuses solely on litigation related to predatory lending practices.

In recent years, the rise of boutique law firms has been in response to lawyers deciding to focus on one legal specialization. While boutique law firms are typically smaller than the average large firm, they also are characterized by other factors.

Attorneys who belong to a boutique firm are experienced lawyers specializing in one area. These small firms are sometimes patched into a network of other boutique firms that an attorney can draw on for client referrals.

While retaining a lawyer is still expensive, boutique firms can offer their clients competitive fees. Boutique firms tend to outsource business tasks, which reduces overall costs. Outsourcing allows attorneys to focus on working on and winning their cases.

Earnin – Business Strategy or Deception

As a partner at Kaliel, PLLC and a class action litigator, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel is an advocate for consumers who have suffered against predatory practices in the financial industry, more specifically banking. In addition to successfully winning lawsuits against Bank of America, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel has also assisted consumers with recoveries in suits related to other predatory banking practices.

As banking becomes more flexible and versatile, financial institutions have introduced new, innovative products. For example, Earnin is the newest app that allows consumers to borrow against their paycheck. Earnin works by allowing consumers to advance a portion of their paycheck after they have worked a certain number of hours.

This idea seems to be much better than the traditional payday loans because consumers are not charged with high-interest rates. However, there are a few issues at play with this particular payday lending platform. For one, the company collects its money when the borrower is paid through their normal paycheck. But if the money is not available, borrowers incur overdraft fees. According to the lawsuit Stark v. Active Hours, the service causes customers to incur overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees.

The New York Department of Financial Services and other state organizations are beginning to look at Earnin’s overall business practices. Most lenders earn income on the money lent to borrowers through interest. Earnin does not charge its customers fees or interest but instead charges them a tip, which is usually 10 percent of the cash they borrow. The point of contention is the language used to convince consumers why the app is better than traditional payday loan services. Instead of calling the transaction a loan, the company refers to them as activations.

Because Earnin is exempt from the 2017 federal payday rule and the 1968 Truth in Lending Act, it has managed to go around traditional payday laws. When looking at how much tips eventual cost in interest, many believe the company to be another payday lender, though.

What Is a Class-Action Lawsuit?

Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel is a prominent class-action litigator in Washington, D.C. As a partner at Kaliel, PLLC, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel specializes in representing plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits and personal injury cases.

A class-action lawsuit is submitted by a group of individuals against an organization or another individual. Class actions are reserved for cases in which the plaintiffs allegedly suffered the same or similar injuries from the defendant.

Also, class-action lawsuits are used when each plaintiff’s claim is too small to make a standard lawsuit worthwhile. Class actions are also more convenient for the courts than a large number of small, individual cases.

Most often, class-action lawsuits are filed against a local, state, or the federal government, manufacturers, employers, and banks and other financial institutions. The most common reasons for class-action suits include discrimination, false advertising, unlawful employment practices, and defective or failed products.

At the beginning, the judge has to certify the class and the lead plaintiff has to prove that the class has a valid claim. The main plaintiff also has to prove that the legal representation provided is fit to lead and represent the entire class.

California Addresses Rent-a-Bank Schemes

Attorney Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel’s experience in class action litigation is not limited to Washington, DC, where his office is located. Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel’s specialty is recovering damages for consumers who are victims of financial predatory practices.

In recent years, the state of California has done much to address predatory lending practices, with the legislature placing caps on the interest rate consumer lenders can charge. However, it appears that payday lenders have found a way to skirt the law that caps interest rates at 36 percent.

To qualify as a lender, a company has to partner with a chartered bank. In what has come to be called “rent-a-bank” schemes, a financial institution identifies itself as the lender on a borrower’s documents, but soon after the loan has been approved and processed, a payday lender purchases the loan. Thereafter, the payday loan takes over all processes, including the adjustment of the interest rate.

This works for a few reasons. Most financial institutions are exempt from rate caps. Moreover, banks have no federal interest rate limits. Finally, some financial institutions argue that they are only acting as agents, assignees, or service providers.

The Class-Action Lawsuit That Cost Bank of America Tens of Millions

A partner and class-action litigator at Kalliel, PLLC, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel is an expert in consumer class actions and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients. Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel played a substantial role in litigation in the case of Farrell v. Bank of America.

The case arose when Bank of America customers found that the bank was assessing extended overdrawn balance charges on their accounts. Normally, banks assess a fee when an account becomes overdrawn. However, Bank of America was assessing additional fees if the overdraft remained in effect for five days.

This violates the National Bank Act’s usury limit. Bank of America was charging its customers in exchange for providing no service whatsoever, essentially charging people for allegedly being indebted to the bank.

Qualifying for the class action were close to six million consumers, including Bank of America checking account holders who were assessed overdraft fees between the dates of February 25, 2014, and December 30, 2017. Bank of America ultimately admitted no liability but agreed to settle the case for $66.6 million.

Lawsuits against Excessive Overdraft Charges Gaining Traction

Named one of the Super Lawyers Rising Stars of Washington, DC, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel has a proven record of success in the filing, litigating, and resolving of class-action lawsuits. A partner at the law firm Kaliel PLLC, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel represents plaintiffs in overdraft cases against consumer financial service companies.

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) have acknowledged the growing number of lawsuits filed against credit unions for excessive overdraft charges. Law firms have been serving credit union members in suits that target specific aspects of the disclosure.

Most class actions filed against credit unions deal with the disclosures on overdraft policies that they make with their members. Attorneys have been successful in driving the argument that most overdraft forms and regulations are unclear. For instance, credit unions generally fail to define what “available balance” is, and the method to use in determining available balance.

Since 2018, Kaliel PLLC has vigorously campaigned for plaintiffs to file lawsuits against credit unions for excessive overdraft charges. Class actions have been filed in many states, including New York and Maryland. NAFCU credits the attorneys for assembling well-researched lawsuits against credit unions.