Published
October 17, 2026
Bright Lending borrowers who fully repaid a loan taken out between October 1, 2020 and June 4, 2026 will be paid automatically from a $15 million fund, and unpaid balances on Bright Lending loans from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2024 will be canceled; there is no claim form to file. December 21, 2026 is the deadline to choose an electronic payment, opt out or object, and the final approval hearing is set for January 19, 2027.
Current Status
There is no claim form. Cash payments and loan cancellations go to class members automatically from Bright Lending's records if the settlement is approved. The court granted preliminary approval on September 21, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for January 19, 2027; no final approval order has been entered. December 21, 2026 is the deadline for cash class members to switch to an electronic payment or update a mailing address, and the same date is the deadline to opt out or object. No payment date had been announced as of October 17, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Pending Final Approval
Preliminarily approved September 21, 2026 · hearing January 19, 2027 · no payment date announced
Claim Deadline
No claim form required
Nothing to file · December 21, 2026 is the deadline to choose an electronic payment, opt out or object
Estimated Payout
$15 minimum
Pro rata share of $15M by interest paid above principal · or the unpaid loan balance canceled · no average published
Proof Required
Automatic Payment
No claim form · checks mail automatically · the Notice ID and PIN are only for choosing an electronic payment
What Changed Recently?
Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois preliminarily approved the settlement in Dixon v. Gatzke on September 21, 2026, and appointed American Legal Claim Services, LLC as settlement administrator. Notices dated October 9, 2026 are going out to borrowers by email, with mailed notices for emails that bounce, and the settlement website, BrightLendingSettlement.com, is live.The lawsuit, filed in November 2024, challenges loans made by Aaniiih Nakoda Finance, LLC, which does business as the online lender Bright Lending. The plaintiffs claim Bright Lending charged interest rates far above the limits allowed under Illinois and other state laws, and that the defendants are legally responsible for those loans. The defendants are Benjamin Gatzke, BWDS, LLC, and seven individuals the settlement agreement identifies as tribal defendants affiliated with the Fort Belknap Indian Community of Montana. All of them deny wrongdoing and liability and agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of further litigation. The court has not decided who is right.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement has two classes, and a borrower can belong to only one of them. Residents of Nevada and Utah are excluded from both.- Monetary Relief Class: United States residents who entered into at least one loan agreement with Bright Lending between October 1, 2020 and June 4, 2026, and fully paid back at least one loan. The settlement agreement puts this class at about 180,926 people.
- Debt Relief Class: United States residents who entered into at least one loan agreement with Bright Lending between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024, did not fully pay back at least one loan, and are not in the Monetary Relief Class. The agreement puts this class at about 443,697 people.
A borrower who repaid one loan and still owes on another is in the Monetary Relief Class only. That borrower still gets the unpaid balance canceled on a loan taken out between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024, but is not counted as a Debt Relief Class member.
The class list comes from Bright Lending's own records, and a notice means those records place the borrower in one of the classes. According to the notice, the settlement website will let borrowers check whether they qualify for a cash payment using their last name and the unique number printed on the notice, though that lookup may take up to 30 days after the notice arrives to become available.
How Much Can You Get?
Monetary Relief Class members share the $15,000,000 settlement fund. Payments are pro rata, based on how much allegedly usurious interest each borrower paid above the principal of their loan, so borrowers who paid more interest receive more. A class member who paid no interest above principal receives $15, and no payment can be smaller than $15.Neither the notice nor the settlement agreement publishes an average or estimated payment. Before anything is distributed, the fund pays for notice and administration costs, any attorneys' fees and costs the court awards (class counsel may request up to 33.33% of the fund, plus expenses), and service awards of up to $10,000 and $1,000 for the two named plaintiffs.
Debt Relief Class members, and cash class members who also have an unpaid loan from the same period, receive:
- Cancellation of the outstanding balance on Bright Lending loans taken out between October 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024, to be reduced to zero within 30 days after the settlement becomes final.
- An end to all collection activity on those loans, and a commitment that Bright Lending will not sell them to third parties.
For members of either class, Bright Lending is to ask the consumer reporting agencies to delete negative entries it reported on loans made during the class period, and the defendants have agreed not to sell class members' personal information to third parties for marketing.
The defendants are paying the fund in three installments: $100,000 for initial notice costs, $9,900,000 within 35 days after the settlement becomes final, and $5,000,000 by December 15, 2027 or six months after the settlement becomes final, whichever is later. If money remains after the first round of checks expires and the last installment is paid in, a second distribution goes to class members who cashed their first check, as long as each would receive more than $15.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
None to be paid. There is no claim form, and payment does not depend on any action by the class member. Checks are mailed to the most recent address in Bright Lending's records, updated through the National Change of Address database or by the class member.The settlement website's Online Payment Verification page asks for the Notice ID and PIN from the notice. That login is only for choosing an electronic payment or updating an address; it does not decide who gets paid.
What Is the Deadline?
There is no claim deadline. December 21, 2026 is the deadline for three things:- Monetary Relief Class members to elect an electronic payment (ACH, Venmo, PayPal or Zelle) or give an updated mailing address. Anyone who makes no election is paid by check.
- Requests to be excluded from the settlement, which must be mailed and postmarked by that date.
- Objections, which must be postmarked by that date when mailed to the court.
The notice gives the dates only and does not specify a time of day or timezone.
How Do You Take Action?
Nothing is required to be paid. Monetary Relief Class members who would rather receive an electronic payment, or whose address has changed, can make that change on the official Bright Lending settlement website using the Notice ID and PIN from their notice. The site also posts the complaint, settlement agreement, preliminary approval order and long-form notice.An exclusion request is a signed letter, mailed to the settlement administrator, that names the case (Dixon v. Gatzke), gives the borrower's name, address and telephone number, and states, "I request to be excluded from the class settlement in this case." Exclusion is all or nothing: a cash class member who also has an unpaid loan cannot opt out of only one part, and excluded borrowers receive neither cash nor debt cancellation. Objections go in writing to the court, with a copy to the administrator. The official notice lists the required contents and the mailing addresses for both.
Staying in the settlement has different consequences for each class. A Monetary Relief Class member releases all claims against the defendants and other released parties relating to any Bright Lending loan, including claims not yet known. A Debt Relief Class member gives up only the right to bring or join a class action, mass arbitration or other group proceeding over these claims, and keeps the right to sue or arbitrate individually. The settlement agreement on the official website lists every released party.
What Happens Next?
Class counsel must file its request for attorneys' fees, costs and service awards at least 14 days before the December 21, 2026 objection deadline, and the motion will be posted on the settlement website. The court will hold the final approval hearing by telephone on January 19, 2027 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Kennelly. The hearing date can move without new notice.If the court grants final approval and the settlement becomes final, the settlement agreement provides that loan balances are canceled and the credit-reporting deletion request is made within 30 days, and that electronic payments and checks go out within 60 days. Those timelines run from the date the settlement becomes final, which has not happened.
Sources and Verification
- Official Bright Lending settlement website (case home page, key dates and court documents)
- Long-form notice, Dixon v. Gatzke, dated October 9, 2026
- Settlement agreement, filed September 17, 2026 (Dkt. 87-3)
- Order granting preliminary approval, filed September 21, 2026 (Dkt. 89)
- Court docket: Dixon v. Gatzke, No. 1:24-cv-11834 (N.D. Ill.)
Questions
What is Bright Lending, and why was it sued?
Bright Lending is the business name of Aaniiih Nakoda Finance, LLC, an online lender. The Dixon v. Gatzke lawsuit, filed in November 2024 in federal court in Chicago, claims Bright Lending charged interest far above the limits set by Illinois and other state laws and that the defendants are legally responsible for those loans. The defendants deny the claims, and no court has decided who is right.
Can a borrower be in both the cash class and the debt relief class?
No. The two classes do not overlap. A borrower who fully repaid at least one qualifying loan is in the Monetary Relief Class, even if another loan is still unpaid. That borrower still gets the unpaid balance canceled on a loan taken out from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2024, but is counted only in the cash class.
Does the settlement fix negative credit reporting from Bright Lending loans?
Within 30 days after the settlement becomes final, Bright Lending is to ask the consumer reporting agencies to delete the negative entries it reported on class members' loans made from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2024. The settlement requires the request; it does not control how the credit bureaus act on it.
Who is not covered by the Bright Lending settlement?
Residents of Nevada and Utah are excluded from both classes. Borrowers whose only Bright Lending loans were taken out before October 1, 2020 are also outside the class definitions, as are unpaid loans taken out after December 31, 2024.
What happens to a cash payment check that is never cashed?
Checks must be cashed or deposited within 120 days of the postmark date. Money from uncashed checks stays in the fund. After the final $5 million installment is paid in, a second distribution goes to class members who cashed their first check, if each would receive more than $15. Anything left after that goes to a court-approved cy pres recipient.
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
$15,000,000 plus debt cancellation
Case Title
Dixon v. Gatzke
Case Number
1:24-cv-11834
Court
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division
Final Approval Hearing
January 19, 2027 at 9:00 a.m.
By telephone before Judge Matthew F. Kennelly
Administrator
American Legal Claim Services, LLC
Official Website
Bright Lending Settlement
