Judge Allows Wal-Mart Vision Insurance Billing Class Action to Proceed

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On May 21, a U.S. District judge in Arkansas federal court refused to dismiss a proposed Wal-Mart vision insurance billing class action lawsuit, alleging Wal-Mart Stores Inc. overcharged consumers at their Wal-Mart Vision Center and subsequently pocketed insurance payments for the products. This ruling occurred after the nationwide retailer allegedly offered the plaintiffs full relief for the alleged insurance billing claims.

U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes ruled that Wal-Mart’s offer for full relief was legally considered withdrawn, since lead plaintiffs Leslie and William Epps did not accept the offer within a 14-day period.

According to the Wal-Mart vision insurance billing class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that Wal-Mart engages in a “pattern and practice” of overcharging Wal-Mart Vision Centers and Sam’s Club Optical consumers of by demanding the consumers and the consumers’ insurance company pay for the same charges. In their motion to dismiss the vision insurance billing class action lawsuit, Wal-Mart argued that the complaint was rendered moot because the company offered the plaintiffs full relief for their personal claims before they filed a motion for certification of the Wal-Mart Vision Class.

However, Judge Holmes disagreed with Wal-Mart’s argument, finding that Wal-Mart made its offer of relief and filed their motion to dismiss the Wal-Mart class action lawsuit less than two months after the plaintiffs originally filed their vision insurance billing class action lawsuit in February. Therefore, based on these facts, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs were not wrong in delaying their motion for class certification.

Leslie alleges that when she visited a Wal-Mart Vision Center in Arkansas to buy eyeglasses and other ocular products, Wal-Mart charged her $245 before tax, despite being insured through Delta Dental. After a $25 after-tax insurance discount was applied at check out, the final price for Leslie’s purchase was $242.05. The plaintiff alleges she contacted her insurer after her purchase in order to discover why she paid so much for eye wear products. Delta Dental explained that Wal-Mart allegedly submitted a claim for her purchases and that Delta had sent the retail store $80 to settle the insurance claim.

According to the Wal-Mart vision insurance billing class action lawsuit, Leslie contacted the retailer and told Wal-Mart they owed her $55, since she was only given $25 of her purchase and her insurer paid Wal-Mart $80 for the claim. However, Wal-Mart allegedly never responded to Leslie’s complaint and never reimbursed the plaintiff for the vision insurance billing overcharge. Additionally, Leslie and William jointly allege that Leslie’s experience with Wal-Mart is not an isolated event, as William went into the same Wal-Mart Arkansas locations and was also allegedly overcharged for his eyeglass purchases.

On the same day that Judge Holmes denied Wal-Mart’s motion to dismiss the vision insurance billing class action lawsuit, the judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion to strike Wal-Mart’s offer for relief and has also agreed to hold the motion for Class certification in abeyance until discovery for this Wal-Mart class action lawsuit has been conducted.

The plaintiffs are represented by Joseph Henry Bates III, James Allen Carney Jr. and John Charles Williams of Carney Bates & Pulliam PLLC.

The Wal-Mart Vision Insurance Billing Class Action Lawsuit is Epps, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Case No. 4:15-cv-00138, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.