Welcome to the Elaine Ward-Howie v. Frontwave Credit Union Class Action Website.

Your legal rights are affected whether you act or don’t act. Read this website and the Notice carefully.

The lawsuit is on behalf of current and former members who were purportedly improperly assessed APPSN Fees between April 29, 2018, and June 30, 2022, and Retry Fees between January 4, 2019, and June 30, 2022.

“APPSN Fees” mean Overdraft Fees that Defendant charged and did not refund on signature Point of Sale Debit Card transactions where there was a sufficient available balance at the time the transaction was authorized but an insufficient available balance at the time the transaction was presented to Defendant for payment and posted to the account.

“Retry Fees” mean Returned Item Fees and Overdraft Fees that were charged and not refunded during the Retry Fee Class Period for Automated Clearing House (ACH) and check transactions that were resubmitted by a merchant after being returned by Defendant for insufficient funds.

Defendant does not deny it charged the fees the Class Representative is complaining about but contends it did so properly and in accordance with the terms of its agreements and applicable law. Defendant therefore denies its practices give rise to claims for damages by the Class Representative or any Settlement Class Members but is settling to avoid expense and distraction resulting from the litigation.

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you received a Notice because Defendant’s records indicate you were charged one or more APPSN Fees and/or Retry Fees that are the subject of this Action.


Your Legal Rights and Options in This Lawsuit
Do Nothing If you don’t do anything, you will receive a payment or account credit from the Settlement Fund and/or forgiveness of Uncollected Relevant Fees so long as you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement (described in the next box).
Exclude Yourself From the Settlement; Receive No Payment but Release No Claims You can choose to exclude yourself from the Settlement. This means you choose not to participate in the Settlement. You will keep your individual claims against Defendant, but you will not receive a payment for Relevant Fees and/or forgiveness of Uncollected Relevant Fees. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement but want to recover against Defendant, you will have to file a separate lawsuit or claim.
Object to the Settlement You can file an objection with the Court explaining why you believe the Court should reject the Settlement. If your objection is overruled by the Court, you may receive a payment and/or forgiveness of Uncollected Relevant Fees, and you will not be able to sue Defendant for the claims asserted in this litigation. If the Court agrees with your objection, the Settlement may not be approved.

These rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained further in the Notice and on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page of this website. For complete details, please see the Settlement Agreement, which is available here.

Current Status

The Court presiding over this case still must decide whether to finally approve the Settlement. The Settlement benefits made available by this Settlement will be provided only if the Court grants final approval to the Settlement and after any issues with the Settlement are resolved. Please be patient.


Important Dates
  • April 29, 2018 – June 30, 2022
    APPSN Fees - Class Period
  • January 4, 2019 – June 30, 2022
    Retry Fees - Class Period
  • June 12, 2024
    Deadline to Exclude Yourself from the Settlement
  • June 12, 2024
    Deadline to Object to the Settlement
  • July 12, 2024, 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time
    Final Approval Hearing