Bright Lending Settlement: $15M Deal Ends Lawsuit Over Allegedly Illegal Interest Rates

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Several defendants have agreed to a $15 million class action settlement to resolve a lawsuit that alleged they issued loans through online lender Bright Lending with interest rates far in excess of the usury limits allowed under state laws. 

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The Bright Lending class action settlement with defendants BWDS, LLC; Benjamin Gatzke; and seven other individuals received preliminary approval from the court on September 21, 2026. Eligible for the settlement are:

• All United States residents who entered into at least one loan agreement with Bright Lending between October 1, 2020 and June 4, 2026 and fully repaid at least one loan, excluding Nevada and Utah residents (the “monetary relief” class); and
• All United States residents, excluding Nevada and Utah residents, who entered into at least one loan agreement with Bright Lending between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024, did not fully repay at least one loan, and are not members of the monetary relief class (the “debt relief” class).

Court documents state that approximately 180,926 people are included in the monetary relief class, while approximately 443,697 people are included in the debt relief class.

The court-authorized Bright Lending class action settlement website can be found at BrightLendingSettlement.com.

Monetary relief class members do not need to file a claim form to receive a pro rata (proportional) cash payment based on the amount of allegedly usurious interest they paid above the principal amount of their loan. Individuals who did not pay allegedly usurious interest above their loan’s principal will instead receive a $15 cash payment from the class action settlement.

Debt relief class members also do not need to submit a claim form to be eligible for the cancellation of any outstanding balance on a qualifying loan taken out between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024.

In addition, for members of either class, Bright Lending will request deletion of negative credit reporting tied to loans originated between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024. The defendants have also agreed to not sell class members’ personal information for third-party marketing purposes, and Bright Lending will stop all collection activity on unpaid loans covered by the settlement.

Class members who wish to provide an updated address at which they will receive a settlement check can head to this page and enter the notice ID and PIN found on their copy of the settlement notice. Alternatively, class members who want to select an electronic payment method can visit this page and enter the same information.

The court will determine whether to grant final approval to the Bright Lending class action settlement following a hearing on January 19, 2027. Settlement benefits will begin to be made available to class members only after final approval has been granted and any appeals have been resolved.

The Bright Lending class action lawsuit alleged that the defendants issued to consumers high-interest loans with rates that exceeded permissible usury limits. The lawsuit alleged violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and Illinois Predatory Loan Prevention Act and Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

 Did you know that some class action settlements require no proof to submit a claim? Check out the latest class action settlements.