Organic Milk Marketing Class Action Settlement

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Organic Milk Marketing Class Action Settlement

By Sarah Pierce

Details on how to file a claim for the Aurora organic milk class action lawsuit settlement have arrived. If you purchased organic milk and/or butter products produced by Aurora Organic Dairy, you may be entitled to receive $10 to $30 from the class action settlement. These milk products include, but are not limited to, those sold under Aurora’s “High Meadow” brand, Costco’s “Kirkland” brand, Safeway’s “Safeway Select” and “O Organics” brands, Target’s “Archer Farms” brand, Wal-Mart’s “Great Value” brand, and Wild Oats’ “Wild Oats” brand.

The Aurora organic milk settlement will resolve 19 separate class action lawsuits filed in 2007 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed suspending or revoking Aurora’s organic milk certification after finding the company “willfully” violated 14 difference federal organic regulations, including multiple cases of non-organic cows being used to produce organic milk.

Consumers alleged in the class action lawsuits that Aurora duped them into paying more for organic milk produced by Aurora Organic Dairy by using deceptive labeling, graphics and marketing claims that depicted cows happily grazing in pastures or on farms, when in reality “the animals were living short, stressful lives being forced to produce copious quantities of milk in the kind of filthy industrial conditions that organic consumers thought they were avoiding.”

Aurora Organic Dairy denies the allegations and reminds consumers that an appeals court and district court dismissed the class action lawsuits’ claims that the milk was not organic and confirmed that Aurora’s milk was at all times properly labeled and sold as organic, and that Aurora’s milk has been certified as organic by a USDA-accredited certifying agent since 2004. The only remaining claim in the lawsuits, that the milk was deceptively marketed, is vigorously denied by the company.

Class Members of the Aurora organic milk class action lawsuit settlement include all U.S. consumers who purchased, for personal use and not for resale, organic milk, organic butter, organic cream and organic non-fat dry milk produced, processed, marketed and/or sold by Aurora Organic Dairy and its affiliates on or before September 14, 2012. These products include, but are not limited to those sold under the following brand names:

Aurora Organic Dairy’s “High Meadow” brand

Costco’s “Kirkland” brand

Safeway’s “Safeway Select” and “O Organics” brands

Target’s “Archer Farms” brand

Wal-Mart’s “Great Value” brand

Wild Oats’ “Wild Oats” brand

Class Members with or without proof of purchase can receive a one-time cash award of up to $10 from the organic milk class action settlement if they purchased between 1 and 20 units of milk. Class Members with valid proof of purchase can receive up to $15 if they purchased between 21 and 60 units, $20 if they purchased 61 to 80 units, $25 if they purchased 81 to 100 units, and $30 if they purchased 101 or more units.

The ONLY way to get a cash award from the Aurora organic milk settlement is to submit a valid Claim Form either online at www.OrganicMilkMarketingSettlement.com or to mailed to the Settlement Administrator postmarked no later than March 13, 2013.

A Final Fairness Hearing is scheduled for February 26, 2013.

Claim Forms and more information on your rights in the Aurora Organic Milk Marketing Class Action Lawsuit Settlement can be found at www.OrganicMilkMarketingSettlement.com. Detailed instructions on how to file a valid Claim Form can be found in our Open Lawsuit Settlements section.

Updated November 2nd, 2012

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