Perez v. Discover Bank

If you were a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) when you applied for a student loan, personal loan, or home loan from Discover between July 22, 2018, and February 29, 2024, you could get a cash payment from this class action settlement.

Individuals with DACA status who sought and were denied loans (the “Plaintiffs”) from Discover Bank (“Discover”) sued Discover under federal civil rights law (Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866) and California civil rights law (the Unruh Civil Rights Act), alleging that Discover discriminated against them because of their alienage and immigration status by denying them loans or extending them loans only after they met Discover’s requirement to have a U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer. The Plaintiffs and Discover have now settled this lawsuit. As part of the settlement, Discover will change its lending practices for its student loan, personal loan, and home loan lines of business to make credit available to current and valid DACA recipients on terms comparable to U.S. citizens. Discover will also make cash payments to certain DACA recipients who were denied credit from Discover or received credit only after meeting Discover’s requirement to have a U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer.

• If you live anywhere in the United States other than California, you may be eligible for a cash payment of up to $250. If you live in California, you may be eligible for a cash payment of up to $2,500.
• You received a notice because Discover’s records have identified you as a potential DACA recipient who sought a student loan, personal loan, or home loan from Discover and was denied (or approved with a co-signer who was a U.S. citizen or permanent resident) due to your immigration status between July 22, 2018, and February 29, 2024. Because Discover’s records do not identify which applicants had or have DACA, you must establish your eligibility to be a Class Member and receive payment.
• Your rights and options, and the deadlines to exercise them, are explained on this website. To demonstrate your eligibility and either stay in the Class or exclude yourself, you must act before July 11, 2024.
• La información en español está disponible aquí. Tambien puede contactar al Administrador de Conciliación por correo electrónico a info@LendingSettlementDACA.com o por correo postal a la dirección en la página Contáctenos.
• Your legal rights may be affected whether you act or don’t act.

Your legal rights are affected even if you do nothing. Review this website carefully.

Your Legal Rights and Options in This Lawsuit

Submit a Claim and be Prepared to Demonstrate Your Eligibility	If you applied for credit from Discover’s student, personal, or home loan lines of business and were either declined credit or received credit after meeting Discover’s requirement to have a U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer, and were a recipient of valid and unexpired DACA status at the time of your application, you may demonstrate your eligibility to receive up to $250 or, if you lived in California, up to $2,500 by completing a Claim Form. If you did not have DACA status at the time you were denied any of the above credit, then you are not a part of this Settlement, cannot submit a Claim Form, and you will receive no Settlement money. Also, you will not be bound by any judgment or settlement. To submit a Claim, you need to complete and submit the Claim Form on or before July 11, 2024. The Claim Form requires that you affirm (1) you applied for and were denied (or approved with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer) a student loan, personal loan, or home loan from Discover (2) between July 22, 2018, and February 29, 2024; (3) you were a recipient of current and valid DACA status when you applied and had a Social Security number and a United States address; and (4) upon request, you will provide official documentation of your valid and unexpired DACA status at the time of your denied application for which you are making a Claim through an I-787 approval notice or a work authorization card containing the code “C-33,” or through other documentation agreed to by the Parties. You can submit your Claim Form through the website later. You may also submit a Claim Form via U.S. mail to the address located here or via email to claims@LendingSettlementDACA.com. (The claim form is available for download here.)
Do Nothing	If you do nothing, you will not receive any payment and will not be able to sue Discover separately about the same legal claims in this lawsuit.
Exclude Yourself	If you wish to exclude yourself (“opt out”) from the Settlement, you must follow the directions outlined in FAQ 10. If you exclude yourself, you will receive no payment and you cannot object to the settlement. Your exclusion request must be postmarked no later than July 11, 2024.
Object	You may write to the Court about why you believe the settlement is not fair or reasonable. You must object in writing to appear at the Fairness Hearing to speak to the Court about the fairness of the Settlement. Your written objection must be postmarked no later than July 11, 2024.

The Court in charge of this case still must decide whether to give final approval to the Settlement. Payments to Class Members who submit Claim Forms, as described above, will be made if the Court approves the Settlement and after appeals, if any, are resolved.

These rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained further in the Notice and on the Frequently Asked Questions page of this website.