Elations Agrees to Settle Joint Supplement Class Action Lawsuit

Elations Company LLC has agreed to a $1.35 million class action settlement, resolving claims that the company made false claims that their brand name joint supplement products can improve consumers’ joint health. The proposed Elations joint supplement drink class action settlement was submitted to a California federal court for preliminary approval on Aug. 3.

Elations denies all liability in this joint supplement drink class action lawsuit and maintains that did not commit any wrongdoing by marketing the company’s brand name Elations Healthier Joints Dietary Supplement as a “clinically proven” product to heal consumers’ joints. However, the company has agreed to the proposed class action settlement in order to avoid the cost and uncertainty of further litigation.

In his motion for preliminary approval of the Elations joint supplement drink class action settlement, lead plaintiff Robert McCrary states:

“In view of the procedural posture and significant risks presented in this action, the settlement — which consists of a non-reversionary cash payment to refund settlement class members who submit eligible claims, plus reimbursements for litigation costs, attorneys’ fees and an incentive award — is a tremendous result for the class.”

Should this Elations class action settlement be approved by a California federal judge, McCrary as the Class representative would collect an incentive award of $5,000. Furthermore, Elations agreed to not contest the plaintiff’s counsel’s request for reimbursement of litigation costs of up to $585,000 or oppose the request for payment of attorney’s fees of up to $362,000.

The plaintiff originally sued Elations back in 2013, alleging the company had no evidence to support their marketing and advertising claims that the glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulfate and boron combination found in their supplement drink products provide consumers with certain joint health benefits. McCrary further alleges that Elations had conducted its own studies that show that their joint supplement drink does not work in the manner advertised.

In response to the filing of this joint supplement drink class action lawsuit, Elations attempted to decertify the Class of California consumers in November 2013. However, U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal rejected the supplement manufacturer’s argument that records identifying consumers who purchased the joint supplement drink do not exist, the proposed consumer Class could not be ascertained.

According to Judge Bernal’s ruling, although Elations could not identify all joint supplement drink consumers, the company is capable of identifying retailers that sold the Elation joint supplement drink, thereby allowing them to eliminate claimants asserting they purchased the supplement drink products from a store that does not even sell Elations products.

Elations attempted to appeal this decision through the Ninth Circuit and was denied. However, Elations was able to talk Judge Bernal into granting summary judgment on McCrary’s request for an injunction. The judge found that the plaintiff’s plea for injunction was not necessary, as the supplement drink manufacturer no longer employs the phrase “clinically proven” on its packaging.

In addition to requesting preliminary approval of this Elations joint supplement drink class action settlement, McCrary also asked Judge Bernal to expand the 2014 certified Class size to include all California consumers who bought Elations joint supplement drink from January 2009 to the date of preliminary approval for this settlement, even if the packaging for the drink they bought did not include the “clinically proven” claim. The court has yet to make a decision on this request.

The plaintiff is represented by Gillian L. Wade and Sara D. Avila of Milstein Adelman LLP.

The Elations Joint Supplement Drink Class Action Lawsuit is Robert McCrary v. The Elations Company LLC, et al., Case No. 5:13-cv-00242, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: Instructions on how to file a claim for the Elations class action settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.ElationsClassAction.com for details.

UPDATE 2: A viewer reported receiving the following message from the Settlement Administrator: “Payments for approved class members are due for disbursement at the of May, 2016.”  Top Class Actions could not confirm this with the Settlement Administrator, but will continue to provide updates as they become available. Keep checking back and let us know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

UPDATE 3: On May 31, 2016, Top Class Actions readers who submitted timely and valid claims for the Elations settlement began receiving checks worth as much as $59.72.