$2.8 Million Settlement in National NUMI Debit Release Card Class Action
A $2.8 million partial settlement was reached on March 4, 2024, in a national class action lawsuit challenging excessive fees on jail and prison “debit release” cards. The case was filed in 2015 by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), publisher of PLN, on behalf of Danica Love Brown and sought class action status against Numi Financial, the corporate parent of Stored Value Cards, Inc., and its partner Central National Bank and Trust Co. (CNB).
As PLN reported, Brown was arrested during a protest in Portland and detained in the Multnomah County Detention Center. During booking, guards took $30.97 in cash from Brown. When released eight hours later, instead of directly returning the cash to Brown, she was given a preloaded debit card. When Brown used the card to access her money several days later, she found that she had been charged fees of around 20% of the initial balance.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon initially dismissed the case under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1693. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit later reversed that decision. On July 23, 2023, the district court certified the lawsuit as a national class, following a separate Ninth Circuit ruling in 2022 that held no contract existed to force the Plaintiffs into arbitration. The Court reached its decision, in part, by rejecting the Defendant’s argument that “merely accepting the ‘Numi’-branded prepaid card” amounted to agreeing to an arbitration clause. [See: PLN,Oct. 2023,p.12.]
The March 2024 settlement agreement did not resolve any claims against Numi, which claimed to be filling for bankruptcy at the time. As of April 30, 2025, the settlement was resolved and payments made by CNB were in the process of being distributed. The national class includes people who received a debit card after being released from prison or jail without having requested one. So far, in addition to payouts for legal fees, individuals have submitted 5,000 claims, some of which are still under evaluation. The Court is continuing to accept claims from those who were unable to receive notice, a category that includes prisoners, “with the goal of distributing as much money as possible.”
The class was represented by Seattle attorneys Chris R. Youtz and Richard E. Spoonemore of Siriani, Youtz, Spoonemore, Hamburger PLLC; Portland attorney Megan E. Glor; and Karla Gilbride of Public Justice in Oakland, California. See: Brown v. Stored Value Cards, Inc., USDC (D. Or.), Case No. 3:15-cv-01370.
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Related legal case
Brown v. Stored Value Cards, Inc.
| Year | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (D. Oregon), Case No. 3:15-cv-1370 |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 4000000 |