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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
In the ordinary course of business, we are a party to various legal proceedings, including, from time to time, regulatory, supervisory, and governmental matters as well as actions which are asserted to be maintainable as class action suits, employment claims, and or enforcement actions. We review these actions on an ongoing basis to determine whether it is probable and estimable that a loss has occurred and use that information when making accrual and disclosure decisions. We have provided reserves where necessary for all claims and, based on current knowledge and in part upon the advice of legal counsel, all matters are believed to be adequately covered by insurance, or, if not covered, would not be likely to have a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Nonetheless, given the inherent unpredictability of these matters, an adverse outcome could, from time to time, have a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
We and our subsidiary bank received a proposed consent order from the Federal Reserve Board relating principally to various aspects of compliance risk management, including consumer compliance and compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. Included in the proposed consent order are proposals for civil money penalties related to these issues. While we are still in discussions with the Federal Reserve Board regarding these proposals, we accrued an estimated liability of $20 million related to the proposed consent order during the three months ended December 31, 2023.
Note 17—Commitments and Contingencies (continued)
There may be an exposure to loss in excess of the amount accrued. We believe the estimate of the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses (meaning the likelihood of losses is more than remote but less than likely), is up to $50 million as of March 31, 2024. This estimated range of reasonably possible losses is based on currently available information for those proceedings in which we are involved and considers our best estimate of such losses for those matters for which an estimate can be made. However, there can be no assurance that our accrual is sufficient or that losses from the proposed consent order will not exceed the estimated range.
Other Litigation and Claims
On October 27, 2023, a putative class action, Hester v. Green Dot Corporation, was filed in District Court for Travis County, Texas, alleging plaintiff was unable to access funds in his account for an extended period, and that other customers were similarly blocked access. The complaint purported to assert three causes of action (for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and a statutory claim for deceptive trade practices). The proposed class comprised all Texas residents and GO2bank customers or accountholders who “had their accounts or funds blocked, closed, or otherwise restricted” for more than 72 hours at any time during the four years (or the length of the longest applicable statute of limitations for any asserted claim) immediately preceding the filing of this action continuing through the date of judgment. On November 21, 2023, we filed a motion to compel arbitration and stay all proceedings based on the express language of the deposit agreement. On March 29, 2024, the court granted the motion, thereby directing the matter into arbitration, and likewise concluded that the “the contract’s prohibition on class and other non-individual claims is valid and enforceable."
On December 18, 2019, an alleged class action entitled Koffsmon v. Green Dot Corp., et al., No. 19-cv-10701-DDP-E, was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, against us and two of our former officers. The suit asserts purported claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act for allegedly misleading statements regarding our business strategy. Plaintiff alleges that defendants made statements that were misleading because they allegedly failed to disclose details regarding our customer acquisition strategy and its impact on our financial performance. The suit is purportedly brought on behalf of purchasers of our securities between May 9, 2018 and November 7, 2019, and seeks compensatory damages, fees and costs.
On October 6, 2021, the Court appointed the New York Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. Pension Fund as lead plaintiff, and on April 1, 2022, plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint on May 31, 2022, and the motion was denied on March 29, 2024. On February 18, 2020, a putative shareholder derivative action entitled Hellman v. Streit, et al., No. 20-cv-01572-SVW-PVC was filed, purportedly on behalf of the company, in United States District Court for the Central District of California, against certain of our current and former officers and directors. The suit asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment, as well as claims under Sections 10(b), 14(a) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, based largely on the allegations made in the Koffsmon action. The Hellman action seeks to recover, among other things, unspecified compensatory damages on behalf of the company. Pursuant to a stipulated agreement, the parties to the Hellman action have requested that the court enter an order staying the action through the close of discovery in the Koffsmon action.
Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot accurately predict the ultimate outcome of these matters. Given the uncertainty of litigation and the preliminary stage of these claims, we are currently unable to estimate the probability of the outcome of these actions or the range of reasonably possible losses, if any, or the impact on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, except as disclosed.
Other Legal Matters
We monitor the laws of all 50 states to identify state laws or regulations that apply (or may apply) to our products and services. We have obtained money transmitter licenses (or similar such licenses) where applicable, based on advice of counsel or when we have been requested to do so. If we were found to be in violation of any laws and regulations governing banking, money transmitters, electronic fund transfers, or money laundering in the United States or abroad, we could be subject to penalties or could be forced to change our business practices.
Note 17—Commitments and Contingencies (continued)
From time to time, we enter into contracts containing provisions that contingently require us to indemnify various parties against claims from third parties. These contracts primarily relate to: (i) contracts with our card issuing banks, under which we are responsible to them for any unrecovered overdrafts on accountholders’ balances; (ii) certain real estate leases, under which we may be required to indemnify property owners for environmental and other liabilities, and other claims arising from our use of the premises; (iii) certain agreements with our officers, directors, and employees, under which we may be required to indemnify these persons for liabilities arising out of their relationship with us; and (iv) contracts under which we may be required to indemnify our retail distributors, suppliers, vendors and other parties with whom we have contracts against claims arising from certain of our actions, omissions, violations of law and/or infringement of patents, trademarks, copyrights and/or other intellectual property rights.
Generally, a maximum obligation under these contracts is not explicitly stated. Because the obligated amounts associated with these types of agreements are not explicitly stated, the overall maximum amount of the obligation cannot be reasonably estimated. With the exception of overdrafts on accountholders’ balances, historically, we have not been required to make payments under these and similar contingent obligations, and no liabilities have been recorded for these obligations in our consolidated balance sheets. For additional information regarding overdrafts on accountholders’ balances, refer to Note 5 — Accounts Receivable.