Gov. Wants Lenny & Larry’s Free Cookie Class Action Settlement Rejected

The U.S. government is urging an Illinois federal court to reject a $5 million settlement that would provide free cookies to Class Members affected by the alleged false labeling of Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie.

The government argued that the settlement plan serves only as a promotional opportunity for Lenny & Larry’s and will not provide substantial benefits for Class Members. Instead, the bulk of the settlement will reportedly benefit non-Class consumers.

The settlement in question was reached in October 2018 and was set to resolve claims that Lenny & Larry’s misrepresented the nutritional value of their cookies.

Through mediation, the cookie maker and the plaintiffs reached a $5 million deal that would provide $1.85 million in cash payments and $3.15 million in free cookies.

Class counsel requested $1.1 million in attorneys fees and court costs, leaving only $350,000 for cash payouts. With 70,000 out of 90,000 Class Members opting for cash payment, this leaves only $25 per consumer who submitted proofs of purchase instead of the initially proposed $50 cash award.

The government argues that, since the majority of Class Members are opting for reduced cash payments, most of the free cookie fund will be unclaimed – allowing Lenny & Larry’s to promote their products by giving the products to retailers.

“This cookie giveaway does not benefit class members at all; instead, it is effectively a promotional opportunity for Lenny & Larry’s and their longstanding health food retailers to draw in consumers with free samples,” the government states in their statement of interest filing. “A general cookie distribution does nothing for the class, but it does advance Lenny and Larry’s ‘goodwill’ and business interests.”

In the statement of interest, the U.S. government picks apart various aspects of the settlement including Lenny & Larry’s distribution tactics and the proposed Class counsel fees.

The government argues that, since the cookie company now has the identities of 90,000 Class Members, they have the ability to distribute free cookies directly to consumers rather than sending them to retail locations.

Attorneys’ fees came under scrutiny by the government, which argues that $1.1 million is far out of proportion considering the benefits the settlement Class is receiving.

The government claims that the free cookie award should be considered a cy pres award since the bulk of those benefits are for the general public. Instead, the statement argues that class counsel fees should be determined based on the cash payment fund.

“A more accurate calculation shows that class counsel’s fee request is, in reality, an outlandish 70 percent of the net settlement — not the 24 percent they suggest to the court,” the government wrote.

The proposed Class is represented by Edward A. Wallace and Tyler J. Story of Wexler Wallace LLP; Nick Suciu III of Barbat Mansour & Suciu PLLC; and Steven Wasserman, Kathryn S. Marshall and Karin R. Leavitt of Wasserman Law Group.

The Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie Class Action Lawsuit is Cowen, et al. v. Lenny & Larry’s Inc., Case No. 1:17­-cv-­01530, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

UPDATE: On April 2, 2019, Lenny & Larry’s and a group of customers seek approval of a modified $2.3 million class action settlement that will provide more cash and free cookies to Class Members.