FORT LAUDERDALE — After hearing six weeks of testimony, a Broward County jury determined on March 25 that Wells Fargo Bank must pay $832 million in total damages to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit over how the bank made unauthorized fees, did not properly disclose the fees, and mismanaged investments for a trust involving 2,300 minors from the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The named plaintiffs in the case are tribal members Lewis Gopher Jr. and Quentin Tommie; Nancy Jimmie, a parent whose children are tribal members; and Providence First Trust. Gopher, Tommie and Jimmie were in the 15th floor courtroom in downtown Fort Lauderdale nearly every day of the trial, sitting side-by-side at the plaintiffs’ table in front of 17th Judicial Circuit Judge William Haury.
“I’m very happy with how things turned out,” Tommie said after the trial. “It was a new experience for all of us, but we were definitely very dedicated the entire time to standing up for what we thought was right, in regards to the minors’ trust. I’m very pleased with the experience that I had with the legal team that we worked with and all of their grave efforts they gave to winning this case.”…