Akavar 20/50 Class Action Settlement Reached, Seeks Court Approval

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A class action settlement was reached between Basic Research and a group of plaintiffs who claim that the company engaged in false advertising tactics to convince customers to buy the weight loss supplement Akavar 20/50, giving class members a full refund of their purchase.

Class Members in the Akavar 20/50 class action lawsuit will receive a minimum of $25 for each box of the weight loss supplement they purchased. They may receive more, if they can prove they paid more for the product, according to the joint motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement filed by both the defendants and plaintiffs on Feb. 18.

In order to receive the refund, Class Members will need to file a claim form, but the website for the Akavar 20/50 class action settlement was not updated with the claim form or claim filing instructions at the time this article was posted. We will update our readers as soon as instructions are made available.

The proposed class action settlement also resolves all claims filed against Basic Research and the other defendants associated with Akavar 20/50.

Both parties in the class action lawsuit “have conducted extensive arm’s-length settlement negotiations over the course of several years and have determined, after taking into account the substantial benefits conferred on the class by the settlement, that the settlement would be fair, reasonable, and adequate,” the motion on the class action settlement states.

“Plaintiffs counsel believe that the settlement, which provides the opportunity for a full refund to Class Members who purchased Akavar, represents an excellent result for plaintiffs and the class and merits preliminary approval,” the motion adds.

The Akavar 20/50 class action lawsuit was filed against Basic Research in November 2007 by plaintiffs Pamela Miller, Randy Howard, and Donna Patterson alleging that the “Eat all you want and still lose weight” marketing slogan is deceptive. The class was certified in 2011. 

The class action lawsuit charged Basic Research with violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Utah Pattern of Unlawful Activity Act, and the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act.

This was not the first weight loss supplement class action settlement reached in the Akavar 20/50 class action lawsuit.

After beginning mediation in September 2012, the parties struggled to finalize a settlement agreement. The plaintiffs asked the court in December 2012 “to enforce” the class action settlement, which it agreed to do. 

However, the class action settlement was appealed by Basic Research in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. That appeal was denied in May 2014. The defendants’ attempt to have their case reheard by the appellate court was also denied on June 19, 2014.

The plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement on July 21, 2014. The defendants then filed a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement agreement reached after mediation in September 2012 on Aug. 1, 2014.

However, the Utah federal judge issued an order telling the plaintiffs and the defendants to file this joint motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement.

The defendants are represented by Christopher B. Sullivan, Jason M. Kerr and Ronald F. Price of Price Parkinson & Kerr PLLC.

The plaintiffs are represented by Scott R. Shepherd of Shepherd Finkelman Miller & Shah LLP, Kevin P. Roddy of Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer PA and Jon V. Harper of Anderson & Karrenberg APC.

The Akavar 20/50 Class Action Lawsuit is Miller et al v. Basic Research et al, Case No.  2:07-cv-00871, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

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