Johnson & Johnson or Starbucks Might Owe You Money. Here’s How to Check
Getting a check in the mail never gets old.
This month, I got a $16 check from a Stevia In The Raw class-action settlement, and I’m not even going to downplay my reaction — I was thrilled!
Ok, I know what some of you are thinking…. “You got excited over $16?”
Of course! Every extra dollar helps my family budget.
To help add to your budget as well, this month I came up with six new class-action settlements for my Penny Hoarder friends. I qualified for three of them, and I’m excited to hear what you end up filing for!
Let’s jump right in.
1. Fresh Milk Products
If you bought milk, cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt or other fresh milk products in the past 13 years, then you could get cash from a price-fixing settlement.
The lawsuit accused the National Milk Producers Federation, as well as Dairy Farmers of America Inc., Land O’Lakes Inc. and others, of conspiring together to artificially inflate the price of milk products.
According to the class-action lawsuit, the milk producers agreed to reduce the supply of milk and thereby eliminate competition by prematurely slaughtering dairy cows in their herds.
The dairy farmers agreed to pay $52 million to settle the allegations, and the settlement administrator will disburse a share of that money to each class member who files a claim.
The actual amount that each person receives will depend on how many milk products they purchased and the total number of claim forms filed.
You don’t have to provide any receipts, but you must have purchased fresh milk products in one of the following states: Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia or Wisconsin.
Class members are required to file a claim form no later than Jan. 31, 2017.
2. Johnson’s Bedtime Bath
JOHNSON’S baby/Facebook
Did you buy any Johnson’s Bedtime Bath products from July 1, 2010, through Aug. 31, 2016? If so, you could get up to $30.
A class-action lawsuit accused the company of falsely advertised its baby bedtime products as “clinically proven” to help babies sleep better.
The plaintiffs claimed they followed “the 3-step nightly routine” recommended by Johnson & Johnson “for a period of time” with their children, but the products “did not help [their] babies sleep any better.”
Class members who file a claim form can get $3 for each Johnson’s Bedtime product they purchased.
Those who can provide a receipt with their claim form can claim up to 10 items and receive a maximum of $30. If you purchased the Johnson’s Bedtime products during the aforementioned period but cannot provide proof of purchase, you can still claim up to five items for a total of $15.
Those consumers interested in filing a claim for the Johnson’s Bedtime Bath class-action settlement must do so by April 28, 2017.
More information is available here.
3. Nvidia GTX 970 Graphics Card
If you purchased any Nvidia GTX 970 graphics cards from Sept. 1, 2014, through Aug. 24, 2016, you could receive $30 per unit.
The Nvidia lawsuit claimed the graphics card manufacturer falsely advertised the storage capabilities and operating performances of its GeForce GTX 970 GPU.
The plaintiffs who filed the Nvidia class-action lawsuit alleged that the GTX 970 GPU was misrepresented as being able to “(1) operate with a full 4 gigabytes of video random access memory, (2) have 64 render output processors, and (3) have an L2 cache capacity of 2 megabytes, or omitted material facts to the contrary.”
However, the plaintiffs say that instead of 4GB of video random access memory, the graphics card operated on 3.5GB with a separate 0.5GB spillover. And instead of the 56 render output processors that the GeForce GTX 970 advertised, the actual device contained 64 ROPs.
Class members will need to provide a receipt or other proof of purchase with their claim forms. However, there’s no limit to the number of claims you can submit.
To benefit from this settlement, you must submit a claim form and proof of purchase by Nov. 30, 2016.
4. Starbucks Breakfast Sandwiches
Did you buy either a reduced-fat turkey bacon breakfast sandwich or a sausage and cheddar breakfast sandwich at a California Starbucks store last year? If so, you could get 25 cents per sandwich from this settlement.
The Starbucks class-action lawsuit accused the coffee giant of displaying the price of the reduced-fat turkey bacon sandwich as $3.45 and the sausage and cheddar sandwich as $3.25, but charging $3.75 and $3.45, respectively, at the register.
California Starbucks customers who used their Starbucks Rewards account to purchase the breakfast sandwiches will not need to submit a claim form or proof of purchase. They will automatically receive an electronic coupon code.
Those who qualify for the settlement, but didn’t use a Starbucks Rewards account to make their purchases will need to provide a receipt along with a claim form in order to receive 25 cents per item.
If you are a class member but cannot provide a receipt and did not use a Starbucks Rewards account in connection with your purchase, you can still file a claim form no later than Dec. 22, 2016, to receive one 50-cent Starbucks store credit. Hey, it’s better than nothing!
5. SiriusXM Satellite Radio
If you bought or leased a vehicle with a SiriusXM promotional trial and received a telemarketing call from the satellite radio company to try to get you to subscribe, you could get $5 to $15 or three months of free access to SiriusXM’s Select service.
The lawsuit against SiriusXM claimed the company used an automatic telephone-dialing system to call car buyers who had a complimentary trial of the satellite radio service, urging them to pay for a subscription. The lawsuit alleged that this violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Sirius agreed to pay $35 million to resolve the allegations, making it one of the largest TCPA settlements to date.
To benefit from this settlement, you must file a claim form by Nov. 26, 2016, and choose either a cash payout or free satellite radio service for three months.
Find out more information here.
6. Optical Disk Drive Indirect Purchaser
Did you own a computer, game console or camcorder with an optical disk drive? If so, then you could get $10 per drive from a class-action settlement.
The optical disk drive lawsuit alleged that Sony, Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Panasonic Corp. and NEC Corp. engaged in a price-fixing conspiracy that caused consumers to pay more for the electronic devices than they should have in a competitive market.
For this settlement, class members do not have to provide any proof of purchase but they must submit a claim form no later than July 1, 2017.
Your turn: Are you filing a claim for any of these settlements?
Melissa LaFreniere is the News Editor of TopClassActions.com.
