The lawsuit was filed in 1999 by certain individuals and a privacy organization who claim Bank of America improperly disclosed customers' confidential information to third parties, and misrepresented the scope and nature of its customer privacy policy. The time period involved is from September 9, 1995 to May 31, 2007. Bank of America denies all allegations of wrongdoing and contends that it fully complied with the law, its privacy policy and its customer agreements.

The Court did not decide the case. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. Settlements avoid the costs and uncertainty of trial and possible appeals, while providing benefits to Class Members.

You are a member of the Settlement Class and are affected by the settlement if you are a U.S. resident and if at any time between September 9, 1995 and May 31, 2007, you had (1) a Bank of America non-business checking or savings account, (2) a non-business loan with Bank of America secured by residential real estate (i.e., a mortgage loan), or (3) a Bank of America branded consumer credit card and a California mailing address for purposes of communicating with Bank of America.

If you meet this description, you are automatically a member of the Settlement Class (a "Class Member") and are automatically included in the settlement unless your valid request for exclusion is received by the Claims Administrator by August 15, 2007.

A “Class Action” is a lawsuit that is filed on behalf of all individuals or entities that may have been similarly affected by the allegations brought before the Court. In a class action, if the Court approves a settlement, the class members share in any benefits provided by the Settlement and are bound by the terms of the Settlement Agreement.

The Court has appointed attorneys to represent the Class. Class Counsel will request the Court award fair and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

No attorneys' fees will be deducted from the benefits paid to Settlement Class Members. You may hire your own attorney, if you wish. However, should you decide to do so, you will be responsible for that attorney’s fees and expenses.

No. You will not have to appear in Court, nor will you have to give any testimony other than the facts you submit on your claim form.

Bank of America has made changes to its privacy policies, its website, and its telephonic opt-out procedures. Bank of America has also agreed to provide additional benefits described later in this paragraph, and to provide at least $10.75 million in the following benefits to Class Members:

1. For all class members: Vouchers good for a discount of $200 off loan origination fees (including borrower fees, lender fees, and closing costs) for a new first mortgage loan on residential property or a refinance of a mortgage loan on residential property.
2. For class members with checking or savings accounts: Automatic waivers of fees for domestic deposited items returned, or for phone calls to Bank of America's automated Voice Response Unit for checking or savings accounts.
3. For class members who have or had a Bank of America-branded consumer credit card and a California mailing address for purposes of communicating with the Bank: 12 free months of Card Registry, described at www.bankprivacycase.com, which lets you register your credit cards, and in case of loss, provides immediate notification to the card issuers, monitors your credit file for six months for potential fraud, and other benefits (a $30 retail value). Learn more about Card Registry here
4. For class members who have or had a Bank of America-branded consumer credit card and a California mailing address for purposes of communicating with the Bank: 90 free days of Identity Theft Protection Service, described at www.bankprivacycase.com, which provides you with online access to your credit score, credit monitoring, and compensation for certain losses for identity theft (a $17.85 retail value). Learn more about Identity Theft Protection Service here

The Card Registry and Identity Theft Protection Service will not be continued past the free period without your explicit authorization. Intersections, Inc., the company that provides Card Registry and Identity Theft Protection Service, may request certain personal information from you in order to provide those benefits. Intersections will not sell or share the personal information it obtains about you with any other company for marketing purposes. You may cancel the Card Registry and Identity Theft Protection benefits at any time.

In addition to the benefits described, Bank of America has agreed to make available on the web at www.bankprivacycase.com, and by direct mail to each Class Member who requests it on the claim form or by phone, a Privacy Tool Kit brochure. This publication tells you how to protect your privacy, provides useful tips on how to reduce your risk of identity theft, explains how to order free credit reports from the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) and tells you how to dispute errors on your credit report.

Bank of America has also agreed to contribute $3.25 million to promote privacy-related projects, of which $1.75 million will be allocated to the Rose Foundation to distribute to one or more non-profit entities that specialize in privacy-related programs, and $1.5 million will be allocated among several non-profit entities for their privacy-related programs.

To obtain the $200 discount voucher, or the free Card Registry or the Identity Theft Protection Service, you must file a claim. You may file a claim by phone, mail or over the Internet. You can file by phone by choosing option 1 at the main menu of our automated voice message system. If you wish to file your claim by mail, you can download a form on the Internet at www.bankprivacycase.com or I can request a claim form mailing for you now. If you have already received a Notice by mail, a Claim Form was included. You can also submit a claim online at www.bankprivacycase.com. Be sure to read the instructions carefully, fill out the form, and submit it by mail or online no later than October 1, 2007.

To obtain the Privacy Tool Kit brochure, you can download it at www.bankprivacycase.com, or I can request that it be mailed to you now.

There is a $10.75 million limit on the total value of claims that Bank of America must honor under the Settlement Agreement. Claims will be honored on a first come, first served basis. Delay in making a claim could result in denial of the claim.

You will not receive benefits until and unless the Court approves the settlement. The Court will hold a hearing on September 12, 2007 to decide whether to approve it. If the Court does approve the settlement, there may be appeals that would further delay your benefits, perhaps for more than a year.

If you don't exclude yourself, you are staying in the Settlement Class, which means that you can't be part of any other lawsuit against Bank of America about the legal issues in this case. It also means that all of the Court's orders will apply to you and legally bind you. It also means that you are agreeing to a "Release of Claims”.

Under the Settlement, if you do not properly and timely exclude yourself from the class you will be deemed to have released and forever discharged Bank of America N.A., Bank of America NT & SA, Bank of America N.A. (U.S.A.), any parent, affiliate or sister company of the foregoing, any direct or indirect subsidiary of the foregoing, any successor to any of the foregoing, and their past or present employees, agents, representatives, attorneys, officers and directors from any and all rights, duties, obligations, claims, actions, causes of action or liabilities, including claims for attorneys' fees, costs and interest, known or unknown, that arise out of the acts alleged in this case regarding the sale and/or communication of information about Class Members at any time during the Class Period to third parties for the purpose of marketing products or services, or regarding any communications with Class Members or the general public regarding practices with respect to the handling, sale and/or communication of information about Class Members to third parties for the purpose of marketing products or services, or that arise out of the provision of any benefit in connection with the resolution of this litigation. In other words, if you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class you will be barred from bringing a similar lawsuit based on Bank of America's alleged communication of information about you to third parties for marketing purposes or Bank of America's alleged misrepresentations of its privacy policy.

Please note that this Settlement will not release or discharge any claim you may have against FleetBoston, and/or against Bank of America as successor in interest to FleetBoston for vicarious liability for the conduct of FleetBoston, arising out of events occurring prior to FleetBoston's acquisition by Bank of America on April 1, 2004; or any claim you may have against MBNA, and/or against Bank of America as successor in interest to MBNA for vicarious liability for the conduct of MBNA, arising out of events occurring prior to MBNA's acquisition by Bank of America on January 1, 2006.

If you don't want a benefit from this settlement, but you want to keep the right to sue or continue to sue Bank of America on your own about the legal issues in this case, you must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class - sometimes referred to as opting out of the Settlement Class.

You cannot exclude yourself by phone or email. To exclude yourself from the settlement, you must send a letter by mail saying that you want to be excluded. Be sure to include: (1) the name of this lawsuit, Consumer Privacy Cases, J.C.C.P. No. 4211; (2) your full name and current address; (3) your Bank of America account number(s); (4) a statement of intention to exclude yourself and all other persons on the account(s) from the settlement; and (5) the signature of all persons on the account(s). You must mail your exclusion request so that it is received no later than August 15, 2007 to:

Bank of America Privacy Litigation
Opt-Out Request
PO Box 4098
Portland, OR 97208-4098

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue Bank of America for the claims that this settlement resolves. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately. You must exclude yourself from this Class to continue your own lawsuit. The exclusion deadline is August 15, 2007.

No. If you exclude yourself, do not send in a claim form to ask for any benefit.

The Class Representatives retained the law firms of Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, California 92101, Altshuler Berzon LLP, 177 Post Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94108, and Yeroushalmi & Associates, Wilshire Park Place, 3700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 480, Los Angeles, California 90010, to represent them. Together, the lawyers are called Class Counsel. You will not be charged by these lawyers for their work on the case. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys' fees and expenses, which Bank of America has agreed to pay up to $4,000,000. The Court may award less than this amount. Bank of America's payment of the attorney's fees and expenses, or the costs of administering the settlement, will not affect the benefits available to Class Members.

The six individual Class Representatives will ask the Court to award them $5,000 each for their service to the class. If the Court grants this request, the service awards to Class Representatives will be paid from the amount awarded for attorneys' fees and expenses, and will not affect the benefits available to Class Members.

If you're a Class Member, you can object to the settlement if you don't think any part of the settlement is fair, reasonable or adequate. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must send a letter stating that you object to the settlement. Be sure to include (1) the name of this lawsuit, Consumer Privacy Cases, J.C.C.P. No. 4211; (2) your full name, current address and telephone number; (3) the reasons you object to the settlement; (4) proof that at any time between September 9, 1995 and May 31, 2007, you had (a) a Bank of America non-business checking or savings account, (b) a non-business loan with Bank of America secured by residential real estate, or (c) a Bank of America consumer credit card and had a California mailing address for purposes of communicating with Bank of America, and (5) your signature. Mail the objection to these three different places so that they are received no later than August 15, 2007:

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don't like something about the settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Class. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you don't want to be part of the Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case will no longer affect you.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing at 1:30 p.m. on September 12, 2007 at the San Francisco Superior Court, 400 McAllister Street, Department 304, San Francisco, California 94102-4514. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. You may attend, but you don't have to. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court will listen to people who have submitted timely requests to speak at the hearing. The Court may also decide how much Bank of America will be ordered to pay Class Counsel. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take or whether any objectors will appeal.

No, but you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection, you don't have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you mail your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it's not necessary.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. To do so, you must send a letter saying that it is your "Notice of Intention to Appear in Consumer Privacy Cases." Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number and your signature. Your Notice of Intention to Appear must be postmarked no later than August 15, 2007, and be sent to the Clerk of the Court, Class Counsel and Defense Counsel, at the three addresses previously provided in paragraph 13. You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself.

If you don't file a claim form, you won't be able to receive any benefits described in paragraph 4 (except the Privacy Tool Kit brochure available on the Internet, and the waivers of certain fees for checking and savings accounts, which are automatic, even if you don't file a claim form). But unless you exclude yourself, you won't be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Bank of America about the legal issues in this case.

More details are in a Settlement Agreement, which is posted on the web at www.bankprivacycase.com. You can also get a copy of the Settlement Agreement at the office of the Court Clerk, 400 McAllister Street, San Francisco, California 94102, between 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.

You can visit the website at www.bankprivacycase.com, where you will find answers to common questions about the settlement, a claim form, plus other information to help you determine whether you are a Class Member and whether you are eligible for a benefit. If you have questions about the case, you can write to Bonny Sweeney at Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, California 92101-3301. NOT CONTACT BANK OF AMERICA OR THE COURT FOR INFORMATION.

We are a neutral third party that has been retained to administrate, or to perform other designated functions. Our services can only be enlisted with the direct approval of the Court.

Any information or documents required for your participation in this case are solicited only by virtue of the requirements decided upon, and specifically ordered, by the Court. We are extremely aware of the often sensitive and confidential nature of the data we have been mandated to collect and store.

All individuals employed by the Settlement Administrator have signed affidavits of confidentiality, and receive extensive training, and instructions emphasizing this important aspect of our responsibilities.

Our facility, equipment, systems and business practices are all subject to stringent protocols that insure the secure handling of every document, and the confidentiality of any data we may receive.

We can only suggest that you might visit the case website, www.bankprivacycase.com, contact the Clerk of Court, San Francisco Superior Court, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102, or possibly seek reassurance by contacting Class Counsel, the law firm of Lerach Coughlin, LLP, 655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101.

You have been identified by the defendant(s) as someone who conducted business with them during the class period, and who may have been affected by the circumstances alleged in this class action. Any mailing you received is intended to insure that you are aware of the case, have a clear understanding of your rights and options, and to provide you with the opportunity to participate, if you choose.

Because we are not employees of any of the defendant(s) in this case, we are neither qualified, nor authorized to address any issues not related to the litigation.

We can only suggest you contact one of their local business offices for answers to your concerns.

As third party administrators we are not privy to any of the banking records or data files of the defendant(s). We can only suggest you contact one of their local business offices for answers to your concerns.

You may send a written and signed request for an address change to:

Bank of America Privacy Litigation
PO Box 4098
Portland, OR 97208-4098

The plaintiffs filed their complaint in 1999.

Bank of America’s position has been and continues to be, that it fully complied with the law, its privacy policy and its customer agreements. However, both sides agreed to the proposed settlement to avoid the costs and uncertainty of trial and possible appeals.