HelloFresh and Consumers Call on Court to Settle Class Action Lawsuit for $14M

Consumers who filed a class action lawsuit against meal kit delivery company HelloFresh for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) are calling on the court system to approve a $14 million settlement.

The putative class asked a Massachusetts federal court on April 27 to approve what the settlement document’s memorandum calls “the largest settlement in Massachusetts federal court history.”

As part of the settlement, each Class member would get $89, and the Class would receive $4.5 million in attorney fees, $450,000 for administration costs, $36,443 in attorney costs, and $40,000 in service awards for the named plaintiffs.

The memorandum states that settlement notices were sent to more than four million people. It adds that 100,433 people made timely settlement claims, while only three Class members objected.

The Class also called on U.S. District Judge William G. Young for class certification.

The class action lawsuit was filed by former HelloFresh customers who alleged that the company violated the TCPA by bombarding them with telemarketing calls, despite them being on the National Do Not Call Registry. It said that the company made unsolicited marketing calls using an automated dialing system and called numbers of consumers who had previously asked not to be called.

In March, Class member Sarah McDonald filed an objection against the settlement, saying that $14 million was not enough for the “billions of dollars” in statutory damages that HelloFresh had caused, instead saying that the settlement should be up to $7.2 billion.

McDonald also alleged that the Class counsel wrongfully withheld its lodestar and that the Class’ claims varied significantly in value.

However, lawyers for the Class said that the $89 payment each Class member would receive was far greater than what those in similar cases had got in TCPA settlements, adding that taking the class action lawsuit to trial was a risk. 

Lawyers for the Class also argued that previous decisions validated the withholding of the lodestar and variance in the Class’s claims. The memorandum also notes that McDonald has objected to at least six other class action lawsuit settlements, and she has filed a claim in this settlement.

However, one of McDonald’s lawyers, Eric Alan Isaacson, told Law360 that the class counsel had “forum shopped” the lawsuits by filing them in three different courts. He added that the class counsel hadn’t “seriously litigated” the suit because they didn’t take a single deposition and won’t reveal their lodestar, reports Law360.

Have you ever received telemarketing calls while being on the Do Not Call Registry? Do you think $89 is a good settlement amount? Let us know in the comments section!

The putative Class is represented by Anthony I. Paronich of Paronich Law, P.C., Samuel J. Strauss of Turke & Strauss LLP, and Stacey Slaughter and Brenda L. Joly of Robins Kaplan LLP.

Objector Sarah McDonald is represented by Eric Alan Isaacson of Law Office of Eric Alan Isaacson, and Nakul M. Havnurkar of NMH Legal.

HelloFresh is represented by Lisa M. Lewis, Lisa S. Yun and Shannon Z. Petersen of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, and William T. Harrington of Harrington & Rice PC.

The HelloFresh TCPA Class Action Lawsuit is Murray v. Grocery Delivery E-Services USA Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-12608, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• HelloFresh Telemarketing Phone Calls $14M Class Action Settlement
• Do You Qualify: Text Message Spam, Pre-recorded Messages, Telemarketing Calls Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
• Were You Affected by the Home Chef Meal Kits Data Breach?
• Do You Qualify: Wrong Number Robocalls, Text Messages | Business & Debt Collector Lawsuit Investigation