Wild Planet, Sustainable Seas Tuna Class Action Settlement

Purchasers of Wild Planet and Sustainable Seas canned tuna can claim cash benefits under the terms of a recent false advertising class action settlement.

Plaintiff Ehder Soto began this litigation with a Wild Planet class action lawsuit filed in November 2015. He claimed that defendant Wild Planet Foods Inc. had been shorting its customers by underfilling cans of tuna below the 5-ounce weight stated on their labels.

According to Soto’s Wild Planet class action lawsuit, he purchased several cans of Sustainable Seas tuna in 2012 and 2013, not realizing that they contained less tuna than their label stated. He cited testing by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that revealed the actual tuna content of the sample cans was about 30 percent less than the federally mandated minimum weight.

Defendant Wild Planet Foods Inc. distributes canned tuna under the Wild Planet and Sustainable Seas brands.

A few months later, plaintiff Heney Shihad filed his own class action lawsuit raising similar allegations. Both plaintiffs raised claims for violations of federal law, California common law, and California consumer protection statutes. The court related the two Wild Planet class action lawsuits in April 2016.

After more than six months of negotiations, the parties reached the current Wild Planet class action settlement in late 2016. The court granted preliminary approval of the settlement in May 2017, allowing the parties to begin settlement administration.

Under terms of the tuna settlement, Wild Planet will create a settlement fund of $1.7 million, part of which will be distributed to Class Members. U.S. consumers who purchased cans of Wild Planet or Sustainable Seas tuna during the class period are eligible to claim a cash payment.

The settlement fund will also cover incentive awards for Soto and Shihad, attorney’s fees for class counsel, court costs, and costs of administering the settlement.

Wild Planet is not required to admit any liability under the settlement, and the court has made no decision on that issue. The company continues to deny the plaintiffs’ allegations.

Class Members who want to object to or ask to be excluded from the terms of the settlement must do so no later than Aug. 25, 2017.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members eligible to claim benefits include all U.S. residents who between Nov. 5, 2011 and May 12, 2017 purchased a can of tuna under the Wild Planet or Sustainable Seas brands.

Potential Award

Up to $29.

The Wild Planet settlement provides for payments of up to $29 per Class Member. This amount could be lower depending on the number of timely and valid claims received. The settlement payout could also be reduced if the cost of the claims administration is more than $350,000.

Proof of Purchase

According to the settlement agreement, Class Members need only submit a filled-out Claim Form. No receipt for proof of purchase is necessary. The Claim Form requires Class Members to confirm under penalty of perjury which Wild Planet products were purchased during the class period.

The settlement administrator will review each claim to determine its validity.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM » 

Claim Form Deadline

8/25/2017

Case Name

Ehder Soto v. Wild Planet Foods Inc., Case No. 5:15-cv-05082, and Heney Shihad v. Wild Planet Foods Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-01478, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Final Hearing

9/14/2017

UPDATE: The Wild Planet, Sustainable Seas Tuna Class Action Settlement was granted final approval on November 27, 2017. Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our  Facebook page.

UPDATE 2: On April 25, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving settlement checks worth $9.11 from the Wild Planet canned tuna class action settlement. Congratulations to all our viewers who filed a claim and got PAID!

Settlement Website

www.WildPlanetSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Soto v. Wild Planet Foods Claims Administrator
c/o Kurtzman Carson Consultants
P.O. Box 43034
Providence, RI 02940-3034
(844) 454-3996

Class Counsel

L. Timothy Fisher
Scott A. Bursor
BURSOR & FISHER PA

Reuben D. Nathan
NATHAN & ASSOCIATES APC

Ross Cornell
LAW OFFICES OF ROSS CORNELL APC

Defense Counsel

Joseph V. Mauch
SHARTSIS FRIESE LLP