Some claimants in the $152.2 million StarKist, Chicken of the Sea and Lion Capital tuna price-fixing settlement reported in September 2026 that a settlement check their bank accepted was reversed days later as "Refer to Maker." The check cannot be redeposited; the replacement has to come from the administrator, JND Legal Administration, and the request should go in before the 60-day cash-by window closes.
What Is Happening
In the week of September 13, 2026, Open Class Actions received several reports from class members in the $152.2 million tuna price-fixing settlement that a settlement check they had deposited was reversed a few days later, with the bank giving the return reason "Refer to Maker" and, at some banks, charging a returned-item fee. The checks were mailed in the distribution that JND Legal Administration began on September 8, 2026, after Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California signed the order authorizing it on July 27, 2026. The tuna payment update covers the distribution itself.Two things are established and one is not. It is established that the distribution is court-ordered and funded: the order issued only after the settling defendants had paid their settlement amounts in full, and payments to approved claimants are going out by mail and electronically. It is also established what the return code means: the bank the check was drawn on declined to pay it and sent the depositor back to the issuer. What is not established is why any individual tuna check was returned. "Refer to Maker" covers a stop payment, a positive pay mismatch between the check and the administrator's issue file, and a check presented outside its window, and the code does not say which. Open Class Actions has not confirmed the cause with the administrator, and nothing in these reports suggests the settlement itself is in question.
What to Do Right Now, in Order
1. Do not redeposit the check. A check returned as Refer to Maker is not eligible to be presented again. A second deposit is returned again, and many banks charge a second fee for it.2. Save the alert and write down the details. The check number, the amount, the date it was deposited, the date of the reversal, the bank's name and the return reason exactly as the bank stated it. Take a screenshot of the alert. If the bank mailed back the paper check with a return stamp, keep it; some administrators ask for a photo of both sides before they reissue.
3. Check the balance and the fee. The reversal takes the full amount back out, which overdraws the account if the money was already spent. Move money in to cover the gap before the next transaction posts. If the bank added a returned deposited item fee, ask for it to be waived; the section on the bank fee below has the argument.
4. Go to the official settlement site, not to anything in an email or text. The official Tuna End Purchaser settlement website is the only place to get the administrator's contact details for the case, which it publishes under the caption In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation. Open Class Actions does not reprint those details, because a number or address copied from anywhere else is how people end up talking to an impostor.
5. Contact the administrator in writing with the check number and amount. Email is the better first channel, because it creates a record and attaches to the claim. Send the claimant name and mailing address exactly as filed, the email used to file, the claim confirmation number if it was kept, and everything from step 2. Ask three specific questions: whether a stop payment or void is recorded on that check number, whether a replacement will be issued and by what method, and whether the mailing address on file is current. Ask whether the replacement can be sent electronically instead of by mail.
6. Say the clock is running. Trade press reporting on the July 27 order said claimants would have 60 days to cash a check before it is canceled. If the window is close, say so in the message. Give the administrator about ten business days, then follow up in the same thread rather than opening a new one.
7. Deposit the replacement immediately, at a teller if possible. Replacement checks commonly carry their own void-after window, sometimes shorter than the original. If the first return was a positive pay mismatch created by a phone deposit's image capture, a branch deposit, where a person keys the amount from the paper, removes the most likely cause of a repeat. Keep the original check and the alert until the replacement has cleared.
The full version of these steps, with the banking rules behind each one, is in the guide to a settlement check returned as Refer to Maker.
Free settlement alerts
Get notified when new class actions open to claims
Join thousands of readers who get the latest class action settlements you may qualify for — delivered straight to your inbox.
What the Administrator Will and Will Not Ask For
The administrator may ask for the last four digits of a taxpayer identification number or a copy of a document before reissuing a payment to a new address, and that request comes through the official channel. It will never need a bank login, a full Social Security number by email, a payment of any kind or a gift card. A "check-recovery" or "settlement-recovery" service that offers to handle the reissue for a fee adds nothing a class member cannot do in one email; reissues are free. The five-minute check for a message that claims to be from the settlement is in the guide to whether a settlement email is real.Why a Real Settlement Check Can Bounce
A settlement check is drawn on a dedicated settlement account that is funded before the checks go out, so the money is there. Genuine checks still come back for three ordinary reasons. Large distributions use positive pay, in which the administrator gives the paying bank a file of every check number and amount it issued and the bank refuses anything that does not match; a phone deposit that misreads the amount, or a check that was voided and reissued, fails that match. A stop payment is placed on a check the administrator has already reissued, or one it believes was lost. And a check presented after the void-after date printed on it, or after the cancellation window the court set, is refused as expired. All three return as Refer to Maker, and all three are fixed the same way, by a replacement from the administrator.The Bank Fee
The depositing bank reverses the deposit under its charge-back right, and many banks add a returned deposited item fee on top. The fee is worth contesting. In October 2022 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in Bulletin 2022-06 that blanket policies of charging that fee on every returned check, regardless of the circumstances, are likely unfair, because the depositor generally cannot know a check will bounce. Several large banks have dropped the fee since. A bank that still charges it is not required to waive it, but the request should be made through the bank's dispute channel, citing the bulletin and the fact that the check was a court-ordered settlement payment the depositor had no reason to doubt.If Your Tuna Check Has Not Arrived at All
A missing check is a different problem from a returned one, and in mid-September it is usually not a problem yet. Payments began on September 8 and a distribution of close to a million claims is mailed in batches, with first-class mail adding several days after the mailing date; the 30-day figure in the reporting on the order is the window for the administrator to start distributing, not a date by which every claimant is paid. Give the mail until early October. In the meantime, check the email used on the claim for an electronic payment, since an unopened payment-app notification can expire (the Venmo payment guide covers that fix); update the mailing address through the official site if you have moved since filing; and remember that the court-approved notice paid nothing on a claim worth less than $5. If early October passes with nothing, ask the administrator whether the claim was approved, what payment method and date are on file, and whether a check came back undeliverable. The general checklist is in where is my settlement payment.Is the Tuna Settlement Still Paying?
Yes. The end-purchaser total combines $130 million from StarKist, $6 million from Lion Capital, the private equity owner associated with Bumble Bee, and $16.2 million from the earlier Chicken of the Sea settlement, and the court released the money only after every settling defendant had paid in full and every appeal was resolved. Claimants are reporting both paper checks and electronic payments from the fund. A returned check is a processing problem with one item; the claim behind it remains approved, the administrator holds the money in the settlement account, and a class member who acts before the cash-by window closes should be paid. Open Class Actions cannot look up a claim, confirm whether a check was issued or find out why one was returned; only the administrator can.Questions
Why was my tuna settlement check returned as Refer to Maker?
Refer to Maker means the bank the check was drawn on declined to pay it and is sending you back to the party that wrote it, which is the settlement administrator, JND Legal Administration. It is the return code banks use when the reason is something other than insufficient funds, most often a stop payment, a positive pay mismatch between the check and the administrator's issue file, or a check presented after the window the issuer set. The code does not say which, and Open Class Actions has not confirmed with the administrator why any individual tuna check was returned.
Can I redeposit a returned tuna settlement check?
No. A check returned as Refer to Maker is not eligible to be presented again, and a second deposit comes back again, often with a second bank fee. The fix is a replacement check or an electronic payment issued by the settlement administrator, requested through the official Tuna End Purchaser settlement website.
Does a returned check mean the tuna settlement fell through?
No. The distribution was ordered by the court on July 27, 2026 after the settling defendants paid their settlement amounts in full, and payments to approved claimants began on September 8, 2026. A returned check is a payment-processing problem with one item, not a sign the settlement fund is short. The claim stays approved and the administrator can reissue the payment.
How long do I have to get a tuna settlement check reissued?
Trade press reporting on the distribution order said claimants would have 60 days to cash a check before it is canceled, so the request should go to the administrator as soon as the reversal appears. Send the check number, the amount, the deposit and return dates and the bank's stated return reason through the contact channel on the official settlement website, and ask whether a stop payment is recorded on that check number and how the replacement will be sent.
Can my bank charge a fee because the tuna settlement check bounced?
Many banks charge a returned deposited item fee and reverse the deposit itself. Ask for the fee to be waived. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in October 2022 that blanket policies of charging that fee on every returned check, regardless of the circumstances, are likely unfair, because the depositor usually has no way to know a check will bounce, and several large banks have dropped the fee since.
What if my tuna settlement check has not arrived at all?
Payments for approved claims began going out on September 8, 2026, and a distribution of close to a million claims is mailed in batches, so a check that has not arrived by mid-September is not yet late. Check the email used on the claim for an electronic payment, update the mailing address through the official settlement website if you have moved, and remember that claims worth less than $5 receive no payment. If nothing has arrived by early October, ask the administrator whether the claim was approved and what payment method is on file.
Sources
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of California — In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 15-MD-2670 DMS (MSB), order authorizing distribution, signed July 27, 2026, via the official Tuna End Purchaser settlement website• Claimant reports of returned tuna settlement checks received by Open Class Actions, week of September 13, 2026 (bank alerts recreated above with identifying details removed)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Bulletin 2022-06, Unfair Returned Deposited Item Fee Assessment Practices
• Uniform Commercial Code — Section 4-214, Right of charge-back or refund
• Federal Trade Commission — How to Spot, Avoid and Report Fake Check Scams
• Kroll Settlement Administration — Positive pay and reverse positive pay in class action settlement administration
