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The makers of Dreamfields pasta reached a $7.9 million class action settlement on Monday over claims that the low-carb pasta was falsely advertised as containing fewer digestible carbohydrates and having a lower glycemic index than traditional pasta.
Lead plaintiffs Joseph Mirakay, Louis Messina, Michael Elefterakis, and John Gembinski filed the Dreamfields pasta class action lawsuit against Post Holdings and Dakota Growers in July of 2013, alleging that the companies advertized their low-carb pasta product as a “low-glycemic index and low-carbohydrate alternative to traditional pasta.”
According to the class action lawsuit, however, independent testing revealed that Dreamfields pasta contained the same amount of digestible carbohydrates as regular pasta, but cost twice as much. The study cited in the Dreamfields class action lawsuit also concluded that the glucose response of the test subjects who ate Dreamfields low-carb pasta and traditional pasta “was essentially identical.”
The companies began selling Dreamfield low-carb pasta in 2004 and the plaintiffs allege that the underlying data that the companies claimed backed up Dreamfields’ health claims were never released and the company offered only press releases as evidence that studies backed up the health claims. The plaintiffs brought claims on behalf of a nationwide class of consumer who purchased Dreamfields pasta for violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, breach of contract and breach of express and implied warranty and on behalf of various subclasses under other state consumer protection laws.
The proposed Dreamfields pasta settlement, entered April 14, will provide $5 million in refunds to Settlement Class Members who purchased Dreamfields pasta since 2004. Class Members who purchased Dreamfields online will automatically receive reimbursement of $1.99 for each box purchased. Those who purchased the pasta products in stores will have to submit a claim to receive $1.99 for each box of Dreamfields purchased, up to a total of 15 boxes ($29.85).
The Dreamfields class action settlement is capped at $5 million and any remaining money that’s not claimed will be awarded to the American Diabetes Association. Post and Dakota will also be enjoined from making the disputed health claims on Dreamfields pasta labels for one year. The plaintiffs’ attorneys will be awarded $2.9 million in fees separate from the $5 million to be awarded to Class Members.
The plaintiff’s motion for the class action settlement has not yet been approved by a judge. During the discovery process, the parties agreed to mediate before U.S. District Court Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr.
Mediation with Judge Brown took place in December in New York. According to the plaintiffs’ motion, “Judge Brown pronounced the relief obtained by the Plaintiffs ‘extraordinary.'” The plaintiffs also argue in their settlement motion that “[t]his session resulted in the Settlement, which Plaintiffs and Class Counsel believe provides substantial injunctive and monetary benefits, is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and is in the best interests of Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class Members.”
The plaintiffs also point out that “[a]lthough the case is in an early stage of the litigation, plaintiffs have conducted extensive discovery into defendant’s advertising and sales of Dreamfields pasta as well as the scientific support or its product claims,” and “before reaching the proposed settlement, class counsel had conducted an extensive review of the legal and factual issues and are well equipped to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of plaintiffs’ claims.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Brian D. Penny of Goldman Scarlato Karon & Penny PC, William B. Federman of Federman & Sherwood, John Zaremba of Zaremba Brownell & Brown PLLC and Charles W. Branham III of Branham Law Group LLP.
The Dreamfields Pasta Class Action Lawsuit is Mirakay, et al. v. Dakota Growers Pasta Co. Inc., et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-04429, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
UPDATE: Details on how to file a claim for the Dreamfields pasta class action settlement are up! File your claim now.
UPDATE 2: A federal judge granted final approval to the Dreamfields pasta class action settlement on Oct. 20, 2014.
UPDATE 3: The Settlement Administrator is notifying Class Members that the Dreamsfield Pasta class action settlement has been granted final approval and all appeals have been resolved. Settlement checks are expected to be mailed out approximately June 1, 2015. Let us know if you receive a check!
UPDATE 4: On June 3, 2015, viewers began reporting that they have received checks in the mail from the Dreamfields Pasta class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who submitted valid claims and got PAID!
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28 thoughts onDreamfields Low-Carb Pasta Maker Reaches $8M Class Action Settlement
I wonder how many diabetics or deaths The makers of Dreamfields pasta are responsible for. The interesting thing about class action lawsuits is that the makers of Dreamfields pasta won’t even have to plead guilty to criminal charges. This would be like advertizing that cigarettes help cure lung cancer. I’m not religious, but I do hope there is a hell. I like how “Judge Brown pronounced the relief obtained by the Plaintiffs ‘extraordinary.” Does he smell like a former lawyer?
I have been eating this crap for YEARS; ever since my doctor put me on a low carb diet! I have 2 pictures of about 20 boxes on my shelf, which are date stamped, but no receipts. What a bunch of BS. I am pissed!
Anyone know where to file a claim? I haven’t seen any forms.
I would also like to know where to sign up for this lawsuit as a plaintiff. I bought several boxes of this pasta as I’m prediabetic. My BGL actually spiked HIGHER than on regular pasta. Repeated emails to the company asking for an explanation for this resulted in NO replies.
Talk about being taken to the cleaners……I’m lucky my spikes didn’t results in permanent damage to my body (that I know of).
I use zucchini as pasta now, not bad, very low carb and low calorie.
I am very disappointed in Dreamfields! I am a diabetic and have sung the praises of them for years! I haven’t lost much weight as I should have and I never thought it came from that. I ate Dreamsfields just about all of them through the last 8 years! Just can’t believe what anybody says anymore.
I am VERY disappointed in Dreamfields. I have been diabetic for a long time. I wasn’t eating pasta because of the carbs. When I saw that Dreamfields had less digestable carbs I was so happy because I love pasta. Now my sugar is over the moon and my Doctor upped my medication. I am not a happy camper any more. I don’t know what to do about this. But I probably should get some compensation out of this.
What i want to know is in order to get a refund you need to show proof of a receipt. I for one never thought of keeping a receipt! I honestly must have bought at least 30-50 boxes of this stuff thinking my family and I were eating healthier. Even my hubby whose a boarder line diabetic believed in this product only to be duped!
I’m glad that the money not being able to be claimed is going to the American Diabetes Foundation but I’d still like to be reimbursed. It’s a shame that I can’t get reimbursed b/c I don’t have my receipts any longer.
I didn’t keep my receipt either. So I take it I can’t be reimbursed for the cost of this hyper-expensive pasta?
I am furious! I really believed the claims and after I lost 70 lbs I started to incorporate more carbs including the dreamfields pasta and the “creep” began to happen gaining back almost 40 lbs. I’m not saying its the sole reason but I do believe that it is the main reason for the cause. I exercise EVERY day without fail, I watch what I eat and drink and include dreamfields as part of what I thought was a healthy starch meal incorporated with veggies and protein. I feel betrayed! This is not acceptable and/or responsibile. The thing is what prompted my low carb way of living was I had pre diabetic sugar levels that I needed to correct. I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t seen a larger change but now I know why!!
Dreamfields: Your not only capitalizing on the weight conscious community but the diabetic community too and at a cost that includes a much higher price to consumers vs other brands but we were willing to pay because of your claims that digestible carbs were in acceptable range with our carb regimine. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Kerri from RI
How do I get a claim form for the Dreamfields class action suit? I have been buying it for years, being on a low carb diet. I even won a case of it in a recipe contest and really believed in them. However, I wasn’t losing weight near as quickly as when I wasn’t eating pasta at all. Thank you!
I am so mad, at them and myself for believing their claims. I don’t think the settlement is sufficient. They were risking peoples lives with their lies. Luckily mt diabetic husband did not have any serious sugar spikes.
How does it work for a refund for me as I am in the Uk? And it cost a lot more than $1.99 per packet. It’s £2.99 per packet which is about $3.35 a packet.