Borrowers outside Nevada and Utah who still owe money on a Bright Lending loan from 2020 through 2024 are set to have the balance cancelled under a $15 million class action settlement. No claim form is needed for the cancellation or for the cash payments that go to borrowers who repaid. Dec. 21 is the deadline to opt out, object, or change how a payment is delivered.
Two groups of borrowers, two kinds of relief
The settlement resolves Dixon v. Gatzke, Case No. 1:24-cv-11834, filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois. The money comes from Aaniiih Nakoda Finance LLC, which does business as Bright Lending. The settlement has preliminary court approval and is not yet final.
The class is split by whether the loan was paid off. The settlement website’s FAQ says the debt relief class covers borrowers who took out a loan between Oct. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2024 and did not fully pay back at least one loan. The monetary relief class covers borrowers who took out a loan between Oct. 1, 2020 and June 4, 2026 and fully repaid at least one. Residents of Nevada and Utah are excluded from both.
The question for a borrower who still owes is whether that balance is covered and whether anything has to be done. According to the settlement site, the unpaid balance on a covered loan will be cancelled after the settlement becomes final, and borrowers in the debt relief class will owe nothing further on that loan. Class members do not need to file a claim to receive a payment or a debt cancellation, the claims tracker says.
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What the cash payments look like
Borrowers who fully repaid a loan get cash instead. The claims tracker listing for the settlement says monetary class members receive a share based on the interest they paid above the original principal. Anyone who did not pay interest above the principal receives a minimum payment of $15.
The settlement site says someone in the monetary group who also has an unpaid loan from the 2020 to 2024 window may get cancellation on that loan as well.
The dates draw a hard line. A borrower whose only unpaid loan was made after Dec. 31, 2024 is outside the debt relief class as defined on the settlement site. Cash is a separate matter, because the monetary class runs through June 4, 2026 and takes in anyone who fully repaid at least one loan in that window.
Payment can arrive as a paper check or by ACH, Venmo, PayPal or Zelle. Borrowers who want a check at a new address, or want the money sent electronically, use the forms on the settlement website.
What Dec. 21 does and does not decide
Dec. 21, 2026 is 51 days from today, and it is the date for three actions. Cancelling a loan is not one of them. The settlement site’s key dates page lists it as both the exclusion and the objection deadline. The FAQ says an exclusion request must be postmarked by then, and that anyone who wants to be paid electronically must tell the administrator by that date.
Opting out has a price. The site says a borrower who opts out gives up the right to receive any settlement benefits. A borrower who objects is writing to the court about why the settlement is not fair, and stays in the class.
The final step is the fairness hearing, set for Jan. 19, 2027 at 9:00 a.m. by telephone before Judge Matthew F. Kennelly. The FAQ says the date may change, and cancellation follows only after the court approves the deal and it becomes final.
Other terms in the deal
The $15 million fund covers more than cash. Under the terms on the claims tracker, Bright Lending will ask the credit reporting agencies to delete negative entries tied to loans from the class period, will not sell class members’ personal information for marketing, and will stop collection on covered loans.
The credit report piece comes with a limit worth knowing. The deal says Bright Lending will ask the credit reporting agencies to delete negative entries, not that the agencies must do so. A borrower with a collection mark from a covered loan should check the report after the settlement becomes final.
Up to $5 million of the fund can go to attorneys’ fees, and the two class representatives can receive service awards of up to $10,000 and $1,000.
American Legal Claim Services is the settlement administrator, at 800-797-0699 and [email protected], with a mailing address of Dixon v Gatzke (956), c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 23459, Jacksonville, FL 32241-3459. The phone line is the quickest way for a borrower to learn whether a particular loan falls inside the classes.
The open question for a borrower still making payments is whether the loan sits in the debt relief class before the court’s final approval. The administrator can answer that before Dec. 21.
Still paying on a loan that may be cancelled?
The risk in a settlement like this is a missed date or a payment sent to an old address. The Dec. 21 cutoff for opting out and updating payment details passes quietly, and a check mailed to a former address can sit uncashed.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
