Settlement Information
Two people filed a class action lawsuit against Heartland Payment Systems, LLC. In a class action lawsuit, one or more people sue an individual or company on behalf of a larger group of people. This larger group of people is called the “Class.” The lawyers who represent the Class are “Class Counsel.” The people who sued Heartland are called the “Plaintiffs,” and Heartland is the “Defendant.” The Plaintiffs brought this lawsuit in a court called the Middle District of Florida. They sued Heartland for charging “Program Fees” every time people uploaded money to the MySchoolBucks website for students to buy school lunches. Plaintiffs claim that Heartland was not legally allowed to charge MySchoolBucks users these Program Fees. As a result, MySchoolBucks users paid more money than they should have to upload money for their students to buy lunch. Heartland says that it did not do anything wrong.
The judge has not decided who is right or wrong in this lawsuit. Instead, Heartland agreed to pay $18,250,000 to settle the case. The group of people Heartland has agreed to pay is called the “Settlement Class.”
Who Is a Class Member?
The Settlement Class includes everyone who used credit or debit cards to upload money to MySchoolBucks to purchase school lunches between June 18, 2013 and July 31, 2019. Please note that if you DID NOT upload money to MySchoolBucks for school lunches on or after January 1, 2015, you are NOT part of the Settlement Class and cannot receive a payment from the Settlement.
Your Legal Rights and Options
What Are My Rights and Options? |
What Does This Mean? |
Submit A Claim FOR PAYMENTby August 20, 2025
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Submitting a Claim by August 20, 2025 is the only way to get a payment from the Settlement. You can submit a Claim by following the instructions in FAQ 6. You must submit the Claim on this website HERE. You only need to submit one Claim one time to receive a payment from the Settlement, unless you are later asked to submit additional information. |
OPT OUT OF the settlementby August 28, 2025
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You can opt out of the Settlement if you want to keep the right to sue Heartland over the Program Fees on MySchoolBucks. Your deadline to opt out is August 28, 2025. You can follow the instructions in FAQ 12 to opt out of the Settlement. In other words, you can take actions to make sure you ARE NOT included in the Settlement, and ARE NOT part of the Settlement Class. This means the Settlement does not apply to you. If you are thinking about suing Heartland for the Program Fees, you should reach out to your own attorney for legal advice. If you opt out of the Settlement Class, you will NOT receive any money from the Settlement. |
Object to the settlementby August 28, 2025 |
If you are a member of the Settlement Class and you do not opt out of the Settlement, you will still be able to object to the Settlement if there is something about it you do not like. Please follow the instructions in FAQ 14 to object to the settlement. Your deadline to object is August 28, 2025. Even if you object to the Settlement, you can (and should) submit a Claim for payment. |
Do Nothing |
If you do not submit a Claim form or do anything else after you receive the Notice, you will not get any money from the Settlement. See the instructions in FAQ 10. However, even though you decided not to do anything, the Court will still consider you a member of the “Settlement Class.” This means that the Settlement still legally applies to you, and in the future, you cannot bring lawsuits relating to Program Fees. |
FAIRNESS HEARINGSeptember 25, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. |
The judge will hold a Fairness Hearing on September 25, 2025 to decide whether or not he thinks the Settlement Agreement is fair and in the best interest of members of the Settlement Class. At this hearing, you and other members of the Settlement Class will have the opportunity to object the Settlement, and people may argue to the judge that the Settlement is unfair. You are NOT required to attend the Fairness Hearing. |
Dates and Deadlines
Deadline to File a Claim
August 20, 2025
Deadline to Opt Out of the Settlement
August 28, 2025
Deadline to Object to the Settlement
August 28, 2025
Fairness Hearing
September 25, 2025
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE JUDGE, THE CLERK OF THE COURT, OR HEARTLAND’S ATTORNEYS FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN TO FILE OR SERVE AN OBJECTION, EVEN IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.