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Update: The Court entered its Final Judgment and its Final Order Approving Class Action Settlement on January 28, 2013. Before any settlement payments can be made, the time period to file an appeal must expire. You may find these documents under the Court Documents tab.
Overview Of The Settlement
Carey, et al. v. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., Case No. 11-cv-10001-LTS
A class action settlement has been reached involving New Balance Toning Shoes.
You may be a Class Member if you purchased the toning shoes listed below from New Balance and/or its authorized retailers and/or wholesalers from January 1, 2010 until August 29, 2012.
TONING SHOES
The model names of the Toning Shoes are:
- Rock&Tone
- TrueBalance
- Aravon Ria
- Aravon Riley
- Aravon Quinn
The lawsuit claims that New Balance violated certain state laws regarding the marketing and sale of its Toning Shoes. New Balance denies it did anything wrong. The Court did not decide which side was right. Instead, the parties have decided to settle.
What Does This Settlement Provide?
A settlement fund of $2.3 million has been set up to pay (i) claims to eligible Class Members, (ii) a portion of the costs of settlement notice and administration, and (iii) incentive payments to the named plaintiffs. New Balance is also agreeing to refrain from certain practices and separately pay attorneys’ fees and costs, and the other portion of the costs for settlement notice and administration.
What Are My Options?
- DO NOTHING: You get no payment. You give up your rights.
- SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM: This was the only way to get a payment. The Claim Form must have been completed and electronically submitted no later than February 25, 2013, or mailed, postmarked no later than February 25, 2013. A claim could have been submitted for each pair of eligible shoes purchased.
- EXCLUDE YOURSELF: You get no payment under the settlement. This is the only choice that would have allowed you to sue New Balance on your own about the claims discussed in the Notice. An exclusion request must have been in writing and mailed to the Class Action Settlement Administrator postmarked on or before November 26, 2012 .
- OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT: You could have written to the Court about why you do not agree with any aspect of the settlement. An objection must have been in writing and filed with the Court and served on the Parties on or before November 26, 2012 .
- GO TO A HEARING: You could have asked to speak to the Court about the “fairness” of the settlement, after you submitted your objection. If you wished to appear and speak to the Court, you must have submitted a Notice of Intention to Appear form, in writing, and filed it with the Court on or before November 26, 2012 in addition to submitting a timely objection.
Please consult the Notice for more details on your options.
Fairness Hearing
On January 28, 2013, at 3:00 p.m., the Court held a Fairness Hearing at the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, before the Honorable Leo T. Sorokin, in Courtroom 24, John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.
At the hearing, the Court granted final certification to the Class for settlement purposes, approved the settlement as fair, reasonable, and adequate, and made a final ruling on all related settlement issues. The Court awarded attorneys’ fees and costs in the amount of $950,000, as well as Class Representative awards in the amount of $5,000 each.
