Instaflex Joint Health Maker Will Pay $4.5M To Settle False Advertising Class Action

Supplement manufacturer Direct Digital LLC has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the company of falsely marketing its Instaflex Joint Support as having the ability to improve joint health.

In 2013, plaintiff Vince Mullins alleged in his class action lawsuit that Direct Digital misleadingly advertised Instaflex Joint Support by including false claims on the supplement’s packaging.

According to the plaintiff, Direct Digital included misleading claims, such as “scientifically formulated,” and “clinically tested” on the product’s label. The class action lawsuit alleges that glucosamine, Instaflex’s main ingredient, has not been shown to help joints.

Mullins claimed Direct Digital violated a number of state consumer protection acts and sought to represent Classes from those states.

A district court certified the proposed Classes and this decision was affirmed by the Seventh Circuit. After the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case and after a year of discovery, the parties agreed to the proposed settlement.

“This is undoubtedly a complex case, and continued litigation will come at considerable expense to plaintiff and Direct Digital, and at significant expense to the limited resources of the court,” settlement documents state.

Under the terms of the settlement, Direct Digital will pay $4.5 million to resolve the claims. From this amount, $400,000 will be used for attorneys’ fees and costs to administer the funds. Additionally, the plaintiff’s attorneys have indicated they will ask the court for $1.5 million in attorney’s fees.

Direct Digital has also agreed to stop using advertising that promotes joint health on Instaflex packaging and to stop promoting the supplement as “special, revolutionary or exclusively formulated.” This term of the settlement agreement will go into effect six months after the final judgment date and also affects any Direct Digital products that contain glucosamine sulfate and are advertised as a joint health product.

According to settlement documents, consumers are entitled to $15 per bottle of Instaflex that they purchased, up to a total of seven bottles and they will not have to show proof of purchase for their claims. Those who paid shipping and handling for a sample of Instaflex are entitled to $5. Instaflex retails at $70 a bottle, which allows Class Members to recoup 20 percent of their expenses, said the motion.

According to a representative for the plaintiff, Class Members will be notified via advertisements in print or on the internet. Approximately 75 percent of the Class should be informed using this notice plan.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiff is represented by Stewart M. Weltman and Max A. Stein of Boodell & Domanskis LLC, Joseph Siprut of Siprut PC and Elaine A. Ryan and Patricia N. Syverson of Bonnett Fairbourn Friedman & Balint PC.

The Instaflex Joint Support Class Action Lawsuit is Vince Mullins v. Direct Digital LLC, Case No. 1:13-cv-01829, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

UPDATE: The Instaflex Joint Support Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim. 

UPDATE 2: On Oct. 7, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started to receive checks from the Instaflex class action settlement worth $37.60. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!