William Klopfenstein v. Fifth Third Bank

── William Klopfenstein v. Fifth Third Bank ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: June 04, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0252n.06 Case No. 25-3258 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Jun 04, 2026 WILLIAM R. KLOPFENSTEIN; LORI ) KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk LASKARIS; DANIEL LASKARIS; BRIAN ) C. HARRISON; JANET FYOCK; ADAM ) McKINNEY; DONALD E. ADANICH, on ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED behalf of themselves and all others similarly ) situated, ) STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR ) THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF Plaintiffs-Appellees, ) OHIO ) v. ) OPINION ) FIFTH THIRD BANK, ) ) Defendant-Appellant. ) Before: BOGGS, READLER, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges. READLER, Circuit Judge. A class of borrowers sued Fifth Third Bank for failing to properly disclose the annual percentage rate (APR) for short term loans the bank offered through its “Early Access” program. The parties litigated their dispute for over a decade, with the class prevailing at summary judgment on its Truth in Lending Act (TILA) claim, 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., but losing at trial on its breach of contract claim. In accordance with TILA’s command to award attorney’s fees to persons who successfully litigate a TILA suit, see id. § 1640(a)(3), the district court awarded the class about $3.3 million in attorney’s fees. Fifth Third challenges that award as unreasonable. Save for the issue of the rates applied to some counsel, we disagree and affirm the district court. No. 25-3258, Klopfenstein v. Fifth Third Bank I. Starting in 2008, Fifth Third Bank offered an “Early Access” cash advance loan program. In practice, Fifth Third charged $1 for every $10 borrowed from a customer’s account, collecting the fee either when a direct deposit of $100 or more posted or after 35 days, whichever came first. In re Fifth Third Early Access Cash Advance Litig., 925 F.3d 265, 269 (6th Cir. 2019). Fifth Third represented that this flat 10% fee translated to a 120% APR. APR, however, is a measure of the cost of credit over time. So the APR for a flat fee fluctuates based on how soon the customer repays the loan. Because customers often repaid the advances well in advance of 35 days—on average about 11 days—the annualized rate frequently exceeded 120%. Klopfenstein v. Fifth Third Bank, --- F.4th ---, 2026 WL 1506439, at *2 (6th Cir. May 29, 2026). A. Recognizing that discrepancy and seeking to challenge the bank’s lending arrangement, William Klopfenstein, on behalf of a class of Fifth Third customers, filed this action in 2012 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. (All plaintiffs and class members are hereinafter referred to collectively as “the class.”) The complaint alleged that Fifth Third misrepresented the cost of the Early Access product by disclosing an inaccurate APR. Based on that alleged misrepresentation, the class asserted claims for breach of contract, fraud, violations of Ohio’s usury law, conversion, unjust enrichment, and unconscionability. Early in the cas