Exhibit 6 — In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation (Dkt. 324-9, S.D. Cal. No. 3:21-md-02992)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California · No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB · Doc. 324-9 · 2024-08-29 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

Exhibit 6 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 324-9     Filed 08/29/24     PageID.6839     Page
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Declaration of Candace Koole in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification;
Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB 
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 
IN RE BANK OF AMERICA 
CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT 
BENEFITS LITIGATION 
Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC -MSB
DECLARATION OF CANDACE 
KOOLE IN SUPPORT OF 
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS 
CERTIFICATION 
This Document Relates to All Actions 
Judge: 
Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 324-9     Filed 08/29/24     PageID.6840     Page
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Declaration of Candace Koole in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification; 
Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
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I, CANDACE KOOLE, declare as follows:
1. 
I am one of the named Plaintiffs in this case.  I am submitting this 
declaration in support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. I have personal 
knowledge of the facts in this declaration, and if called upon to do so, I could and would 
testify to these facts. 
2.
In April 2020, I began receiving EDD unemployment insurance benefits 
that were paid through a Bank of America EDD debit card (“EDD debit card”) that was 
directly linked to a Bank of America EDD debit card account (“EDD debit card 
account”) in my name.  
3. 
My Bank of America EDD debit card had a magnetic stripe, but there was 
no EMV chip in the card.  
4. 
On December 30, 2020, when I tried to use my EDD debit card to buy 
groceries for myself and my young son, the card was repeatedly declined at the 
checkout stand. I left the groceries at the store and went home to check my EDD debit 
card account balance. To my surprise, I found my account had a balance of only $8.37, 
down from over $9,000 the week before. My online account statement showed that 
someone had made daily $1,000 ATM withdrawals from December 19 to 26, 2020, and 
an additional ATM withdrawal for $760 on December 27, 2020, totaling $8,760 in 
ATM withdrawals that I had not authorized and did not know anything about.  
5. 
Immediately after discovering the unauthorized ATM withdrawals, I called 
Bank of America (the “Bank”) to ask about the status of my account, confirm the 
unauthorized transactions, and attempt to get reimbursed for the money that had been 
taken out of my account. Later on the day that I submitted my claim disputing the 
unauthorized ATM withdrawals, the Bank froze my account.  
6. 
In early January 2021, I received a letter from the Bank dated December 
31, 2020—just one business day after I had submitted my claim disputing the 
unauthorized ATM withdrawals— stating that the Bank had closed my claim and would 
not be reimbursing me for the $8,760 taken from my account. The letter did not provide 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 324-9     Filed 08/29/24     PageID.6841     Page
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Declaration of Candace Koole in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification; 
Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
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an explanation for the denial, stating only: “Your claim has been closed because we 
believe the account or the claim have been the subject of fraud or suspicious activity.” 
7. 
My EDD debit card account remained frozen for 77 days, from December 31, 
2020, to March 18, 2021. During that period, I could not access any of the EDD benefits 
that were in my account as of the time of the freeze, and I could not receive or access any 
new periodic EDD benefits payments that I would have received and would have been 
able to use if the Bank had not frozen my account. Through documents concerning my 
EDD debit card account that the Bank produced in this litigation, I have since learned that 
on March 18, 2021, the Bank converted my account status from frozen to blocked which 
still prevented me from being able to access any of the EDD benefits that were in my 
account. The Bank finally unblocked my account on April 5, 2021, after I filed this 
lawsuit.  
8. 
On April 6, 2021, five days after the Consolidated Class Action Complaint 
was filed and 96 days after I submitted my unauthorized transaction claim to the Bank, 
the Bank finally credited to my EDD debit card account the $8,760 that had been stolen 
from me the previous December. I received a letter stating that the Bank had 
“completed an additional review” of my claim and that my account would be credited in 
the full claim amount “[a]s a result of [the Bank’s] research.” 
9. 
In this case, I seek to be appointed as a class representative. 
10. 
Since becoming involved in this case, I have had many communications with 
my attorneys regarding discovery, case updates, case filings, and other matters. I have also 
searched for and produced documents and have responded to written discovery requests 
and verified my responses. I intend to continue working with my attorneys. If appointed 
by the Court as a class representative, I intend to continue to pursue this case by, among 
other things, reviewing important case filings, participating in the discovery and trial 
process, staying informed, and participating in discussions with my attorneys regarding 
significant developments in the case. I am committed to working with my attorneys to 
obtain the best possible result for the class consistent with good faith and sound judgment. 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 324-9     Filed 08/29/24     PageID.6842     Page
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Declaration of Candace Koole in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification; 
Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB
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11.
I understand that if I am appointed as a class representative, I will be 
responsible for overseeing the prosecution of this case by my attorneys. My interests in 
this matter are consistent with, and not antagonistic to, the interests of the members of 
each of the classes that I seek to represent. I understand and will fulfill the duties of a class 
representative, including the duties to prosecute this case on behalf of each class as a 
whole, and to consider the interests of each class as a whole just as I consider my own 
interests.  
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on 
August____, 2024, at _____________, California.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
___________________________  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
       CANDACE KOOLE 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 324-9     Filed 08/29/24     PageID.6843     Page
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