Vibram and Class Fight Objections to FiveFingers Settlement

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Both Vibram USA Inc. and a Class of consumers filed legal briefs to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that objections to the proposed $3.75 million FiveFingers class action settlement are groundless and urging the Court to uphold the settlement despite the objection of three Class Members.

The Vibram FiveFingers class action settlement resolves claims by consumers that the shoe manufacturer allegedly fabricated the various health and fitness benefits of the popular barefoot-style running shoes.

In their briefs filed earlier this week, both the defending company and the settlement Class argued that two of the three objectors neglected to file a claim for the Vibram class action settlement, meaning that these objectors are not eligible to receive any portion of the $3.75 million FiveFingers settlement fund. Furthermore, since they are not eligible for payment, they do not have standing to appeal the Vibram class action settlement.

The objectors to the Vibram FiveFingers class action lawsuit claim that the district court that presided over the litigation abused its discretion. This lower court allegedly breached fiduciary duties by not taking action against the proposed Vibram class action settlement when the recovery decreased from the projected $20 to $50 recovery payment per pair of Vibram shoes, as laid out in the class action settlement notice, to $9 per pair of Vibrams, the objectors claim.

However, the plaintiffs of this Vibram class action lawsuit disagree. “This contention, the centerpiece of the objectors’ brief, is utterly false, thereby negating much of the remainder of objector’s arguments,” according to their brief. Vibram also takes issue with the objectors’ claims, arguing they “ignore critical language” that was clearly spelled out in the settlement statement to Class Members.

Both Vibram and the plaintiffs point out that the FiveFingers settlement statement uses language that clearly informs Class Members that each individual’s settlement award will vary based on Class size.

The parties involved in this Vibram FiveFingers class action lawsuit agreed to a settlement back in April 2014, which would potentially include hundreds of thousands of consumers. The proposed $3.75 million Vibram class action settlement would settle claims originally filed by lead plaintiff Valerie Bezdek in 2012. In her original FiveFingers class action lawsuit, Bezdek alleges Vibram lied about the scientific research that supposedly supported their claims of barefoot-style running benefits in order to boost sales of their footwear products.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock granted final approval of the Vibram FiveFingers class action settlement in January of this year. According to the settlement agreement, eligible Class Members who submitted a completed and timely claim form could receive up to $94 per pair of Vibram FiveFingers shoes they purchased, though the settlement notice estimates that the individual payoff for each Class Member would probably come out to $25 to $50. Additionally, the approved settlement states about 25 percent of the settlement would pay for Class and attorneys’ fees.

Objectors Madeline Monti Cain, Justin Ference and Michael Narkin took issue with Judge Woodlock’s approval of this settlement, arguing that the attorneys’ fee award may not be appropriate given that it represents about a 10 percent loss of the Class Members’ loss for buying the Vibram running shoes.

However, both Vibram and the plaintiffs disagree. “Objectors’ proposed math on awarding attorneys’ fees flies in the face of decades of well-established class action jurisprudence and demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding regarding how damages are calculated in a consumer fraud case,” according to the Class Members brief to the First Circuit Court.

The Court of Appeals has yet to make a decision regarding the objections to the Vibram class action lawsuit.

The Class is represented by Janine L. Pollack of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman and Herz LLP.

The objectors are represented by Christopher T. Cain of Scott & Cain, and David Aisenberg of Looney Cohen & Aisenberg LLP.

The Vibram FiveFingers Class Action Lawsuit is Bezdek v. Vibram USA Inc., et al, Case No. 15-1207, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

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!