Objections Delay Approval of Vibram FiveFingers Settlement

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Although the Final Fairness Hearing for the Vibram FiveFingers settlement was held on Oct. 29, the federal judge overseeing the case has not yet approved the settlement as he is considering multiple objections filed by Class Members who argue the class action settlement is unfair.

On Nov. 12, the plaintiffs filed a motion asking the judge to grant final approval to the class action settlement. Yesterday, an objector filed a motion with the court claiming that the Vibram FiveFingers settlement is unfair and should not be approved because it will provide Class Members with substantially less value than they had been promised.

In her objection to the Vibram FiveFingers class action settlement, Madeline Cain argues, “The substantial disparity between the Notice’s estimate and the actual per pair benefit makes the proposed settlement unfair.”

Cain argues that the notice of the Vibram class action settlement indicated that Class Members who submit claims should expect to receive a payment in the range of $20-$50, although they could receive up to $94 from the deal. However, at the Final Fairness Hearing, attorneys for the plaintiffs indicated Class Members would actually receive closer to $9 from the Vibram FiveFingers settlement.

“In other words, class members would not be receiving $94 per pair, or even $50 per pair, as estimated by the class notice; nor would class members receive $20 per pair – the low-end of the range provided in the Notice,” Cain argues in opposition to the Vibram class action settlement.

“Rather, at the Fairness Hearing, Plaintiffs’ counsel represented that class members would likely receive a high-end amount of $8.95 and a low-end of $8.50, either of which is less than half the amount stated as the low-end of the range in the class notice, and less than 10% of the amount listed by Plaintiffs’ counsel as the high-end of the range per pair ($94.00),” Cain continues.

Class Members of the Vibram class action settlement include consumers who purchased FiveFingers running shoes between March 21, 2009 and May 27, 2014. Nearly 155,000 claims were reportedly submitted for the Vibram FiveFingers settlement, 67 percent of which were claims for two pairs of the running shoes.

Plaintiff Valerie Bezdek filed the first Vibram class action lawsuit in 2012, alleging the company misled consumers about the benefits of its FiveFingers running shoes. She took issue with the company’s assertions that the running shoes could strengthen foot muscles and reduce injuries, arguing that these claims were not backed by scientific evidence.

Vibram denies the allegations but agreed to settle the FiveFingers class action lawsuits, seeking to avoid the expense and uncertainty of ongoing litigation. The Vibram FiveFingers settlement will resolve three class action lawsuits that were filed in Massachusetts and California federal court.

The deadline to file a claim for the Vibram class action settlement passed on Sept. 24.

Further information about the status of the Vibram FiveFingers class action settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

Class Members are represented by Janine L. Pollack of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Friedman & Herz LLP, among others.

The Vibram FiveFingers Class Action Lawsuits are Valerie Bezdek v. Vibram USA Inc., et al., Case No. 1:12-cv-10513-DPW, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; De Falco v. Vibram USA Inc., et al., Case No. 1:13-cv-10764-DPW, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; and Safavi v. Vibram USA Inc., et al., Case No. 12-5900-BRO-JCG, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: On Dec. 31, 2015, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Vibram FiveFingers class action settlement, finding that the payout to Class Members is fair even if they will receive a far smaller refund than was estimated in the Class Notice.

UPDATE 2: On June 15, 2016, Top Class Actions readers who submitted timely and valid claims for the Vibram FiveFingers settlement began receiving checks worth as much as $20.21!