A judicial panel denied a request to consolidate 11 class action overdraft lawsuits filed against credit unions overtheir overdraft practices, meaning courts will likely have toweigh the merits of each case individually.

Since September, at least 15 credit unions in 10 states havebeen hit with class action suits over their overdraft practices,according to court documents. Often, the dispute was over howcredit unions disclose the methods under which they apply overdraftfees. Two firms – the Redlands, Calif.-based McCune Wright and theSanta Monica, Calif.-based The Kick Law Firm – represent all theplaintiffs. Law firms in the plaintiffs' home states are alsoinvolved, according to the complaints.

On Nov. 30, 2015, McCune Wright, The Kick Law Firm and theEdwardsville, Ill.-based Brandt Law filed a request to have 11 ofthe class action suits consolidated and heard in an IllinoisDistrict Court. But according to an order filed this week by theUnited States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, theplaintiffs in the 11 suits aren't enough alike to warrant combiningthe cases.