Big Picture Loan Interest Class Action Settlement for $65 Million

Borrowers could receive payments from a $65 million settlement with Big Picture Loans that resolves claims that the lender charged excessive interest rates.

The settlement benefits people who received a Big Picture of Castle Payday loan between June 22, 2013, and May 1, 2024.

According to the class action lawsuit, Castle Payday and Big Picture Loans charged excessive interest on loans that violated state and federal laws. The lenders allegedly attempted to circumvent interest laws by taking advantage of their tribal status.

Red Rock Tribal Lending is a lender owned by the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians that provides loans under Loans for the big picture, which was previously known as Castle Payday.

Big Picture Loans has not admitted wrongdoing but has agreed to pay $65 million to settle the class action lawsuit.

All class members are entitled to a non-monetary settlement, under which terms the defendants in this case have agreed to participate in the collection of the loans at issue and not to provide capital, services or assistance to Big Picture Loans or Red Rock Tribal Lendings.

Not all members of a class are eligible for settlement payments. Class members who made no loan payments or who lived in Utah or Nevada are not eligible for payments. Individuals who made no payments beyond the full principal amount of their loan while living in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, or Wisconsin are not eligible for payments. Individuals are also not eligible if they made no interest beyond state limits in Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Washington DC, or Wyoming.

Under the terms of the Big Picture Loans settlement, eligible class members may receive a pro rata share of the net settlement amount based on the amount they paid in interest above their state’s limits during the Class Period. No payment estimates are currently available.

The deadline for exclusion and appeal is August 19, 2024.

The final hearing to approve the settlement is scheduled for October 28, 2024.

No application form is required to benefit from the Big Picture Loans settlement. Group members who do not exclude each other will automatically receive a settlement payment.