More than 150,000 claims were received in the class action suit against Vibram USA, and claimants can expect to receive between $8 and $9 per pair of Vibram FiveFingers reportedly purchased, according to court documents reviewed by Runner’s World Newswire.
After reviewing 95 percent of the claims submitted in the Bezdek vs. Vibram USA class action lawsuit, Heffler Claims Group, the independent case administrator, has submitted a declaration to the Massachusetts court detailing its findings, per the court’s request.
As of October 31, Heffler had received 154,927 timely claims representing 279,570 pairs of FiveFingers. Under the terms of the suit, claimants could seek recompense for buying FiveFingers between March 21, 2009 and May 27, 2014.
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In 2012, Valerie Bezdek brought the case against Vibram, contesting that the company deceived consumers by advertising that the footwear could reduce foot injuries and strengthen foot muscles, without basing those assertions on scientific evidence. In May, Vibram agreed to settle the case. Vibram CEO Mike Gionfriddo has said the company does not admit fault, but went to settlement to avoid future legal costs.
The majority of the claims, 67 percent, were for two pairs of FiveFingers, the maximum number in the suit for which no proof of purchase was required. Less than a third of the claims, 28 percent, were for one pair, while 3 percent of the claims were for more than two pairs. (Two percent of the claims were for zero pair of shoes.)
Based on the claims reviewed to date, Heffler anticipates that approximately 4 percent to 5 percent of the claims will be rejected, which Heffler noted is less than the typical 10 percent defect rate in a class action suit. Using this rejection rate, Heffler believes that there will be approximately 268,570 pairs of shoes vying for a slice of the $3.75 million settlement award.
Of the $3.75 million settlement fund, class members will split $2,262,726. Assuming valid claims for 268,570 pairs of shoes, the remedy per shoe will be $8.44 per pair. (That monetary figure could vary slightly based on the ultimate number of valid claims received and interest earned on the $3.75 million currently in an escrow account at Huntington Bank.) Due to the large number of claims, that figure is less than the $20 to $50 per pair that the case filings in May mentioned as a reasonable sum for claimants to expect to receive.
Bezdek and Brian DeFalco, two named plaintiffs in the case, have requested that they each receive $2,500. A third named plaintiff, Ali Safavi, has asked for $1,500.
The remaining money in the settlement fund—approximately $1.48 million—will likely be paid out to Heffler Claims Group and the attorneys for the plaintiffs. Heffler anticipates billing $483,955 for the administrative work it has conducted to process the claims.
Multiple law firms have represented the claimants. The firms have requested the maximum amount of fees that they can earn according to the settlement terms, which is 25 percent of the $3.75 million, or $937,500. The attorneys have asked for additional $61,674 to cover business expenses related to the case. According to a declaration submitted by lead class counsel Janine Pollack of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz on November 12, the lawyers representing the class provided 2,492.25 hours of work for a billable total of $1.36 million.
The lawsuit, which was filed two years ago, is still pending final court approval.
