Sam’s Club Freshness Guarantee Class Action Settlement

Sam’s Club members can now benefit from a $6 million class action settlement resolving claims over the wholesale club’s freshness guarantee.

Qualifying Class Members can receive a $10 Sam’s Club or Walmart gift card if they purchased certain fresh products and returned them to Sam’s Club during the applicable time period.

This Sam’s Club class action settlement resolves claims in two separate class actions filed in California and South Carolina. Plaintiffs claimed Sam’s Club wasn’t honoring its own 200 percent refund guarantee on certain fresh products purchased at Sam’s Club stores.

In the South Carolina action, plaintiff Myriam Fejzulai claimed that in her eight years as a Sam’s Club member, she had made many returns of fresh products but was never offered more than the products’ purchase price as a refund – not the 200 percent refund or full refund plus replacement product promised in the Sam’s Club membership agreement.

The products at issue include certain fresh meat, seafood, produce and bakery items. According to plaintiffs, Sam’s Club had been failing to give customers a 200 percent refund on the return of these items, as promised in the membership pamphlet.

The Sam’s Club freshness guarantee settlement earned preliminary approval from the court in November 2017. Under terms of the settlement, Sam’s Club agreed to put up a settlement fund worth up to $6 million. This fund will be distributed to qualifying Class Members in the form of gift cards good toward purchases at Sam’s Club stores, Walmart stores, walmart.com or samsclub.com.

The fund will also cover incentive awards for the three class representatives, class counsel’s attorneys’ fees and court costs, and the costs of settlement administration.

To receive a gift card, Class Members must submit a claim. Claims may be submitted using the online form on the settlement website.

Class Members who want to object to the settlement or be excluded from it must submit their written request no later than March 26, 2018

Who’s Eligible

Class Members eligible to make a claim are Sam’s Club members who, within the applicable class period, purchased certain “Fresh Products” from a U.S. Sam’s Club and returned that product to Sam’s Club but did not receive the full value of the Freshness Guarantee.

The class periods vary, depending on the state where the Class Member resides. For most states, the period starts on Sept. 11, 2008 or Sept. 11, 2009; it starts as early as Sept. 11, 1999 for Kentucky Class Members. All class periods end on Nov. 9, 2017.

The Fresh Products include certain foods available from Sam’s Club’s meat, deli, produce, bakery or seafood departments that are sold fresh, prepared fresh by Sam’s Club, or are “farm-to-club” fresh products, according to the settlement agreement. These products include fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood.

The Freshness Guarantee, as set forth in the Sam’s Member Benefits Pamphlet, reads: “Refunds on Fresh Product (i.e., Meat, Bakery or Produce) will follow the 200% guarantee: Double the Member’s money back OR refund of the original purchase price and replacement of the item.”

Anyone who is not sure they are a Class Member may call the settlement administrator to confirm.

Potential Award

$10 gift card (projected value)

The value of each Class Member’s gift card is expected to be $10. That amount could increase or decrease, depending on the number of claims received. The maximum gift card value is $25.

Gift cards are limited to one per Class Member, regardless of how many returns that Class Member made during the class period.

Proof of Purchase

The Claim Form requires Class Members to enter their Sam’s Club membership number and information about their relevant Sam’s Club purchases and returns.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

3/26/2018

Case Name

Fejzulai, et al. v. Sam’s West Inc., et al., Case No. 6:14-cv-03601-BHH, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

Final Hearing

4/4/2018  UPDATED

UPDATE: The Sam’s Club Freshness Guarantee Class Action Settlement was granted final approval on July 10, 2018. Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

UPDATE 2: On Aug. 16, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the Sam’s Club freshness guarantee class action settlement worth $136.20! Congratulations to everyone who filed a valid claim and got PAID!

Settlement Website

www.SamsClubFreshnessSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Sam’s Freshness Guarantee
c/o RG/2 Claims Administration LLC
P.O. Box 59479
Philadelphia, PA 19102-9479
phone (866) 742-4955
fax (215) 979-1695

Class Counsel

T. Christopher Tuck
Terry E. Richardson Jr.
Christopher J. Moore
RICHARDSON PATRICK WESTBROOK & BRICKMAN LLC

William D. Herlong
THE HERLONG LAW FIRM LLC

Ali Abtahi
ABTAHI LAW GROUP

Defense Counsel

Naomi Beer
Brian Duffy
Robert J. Herrington
GREENBERG TRAURIG LLP

B. Rush Smith III
Sarah B. Nielsen
Donna O. Tillis
NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP