Duran

Fred Duran filed a putative class action complaint against Obesity Research Institute, LLC (ORI), and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) (collectively, defendants). Duran alleges defendants falsely claimed that ORTs products, Lipozene and MetaboUp, have weight loss benefits. The court approved a claims-made settlement providing that class members submitting a claim without proof of purchase would receive $15, and those submitting receipt(s) would receive one refund of double the unit price paid. The settlement also provided that ORI would cease making certain assertions in product advertising. Defendants also agreed to not oppose a motion seeking $100,000 in attorney fees to class counsel.

In a class estimated to consist of between 400,000 and 600,000 consumers, 895 claims were submitted, in the total amount of $31,800. Assuming there were 500,000 class members, less than two-tenths of 1 percent (0.179 percent) submitted claims. Thus, the proposed settlement buys a nationwide release for the price of about six cents ($0.064) per class member. And for achieving this result, class counsel receive $100,000 in attorney fees—about 75 percent of the total amount…