According to court documents, 154,927 claims were received in the class action suit against Vibram USA, representing 279,570 pairs of FiveFingers. The lawsuit, filed two years ago and recently settled, alleged Vibram used unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of running in its FiveFingers shoes in its marketing.

As reported, Vibram in May settled the suit for $3.75 million. The suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts applied to anyone who purchased FiveFingers in the U.S. from Mar. 21, 2009 to May 27, 2014.

Of the $3.75 million settlement fund, class members will split $2.26 million. Assuming 4 to 5 percent of claims will be rejected, each claimant will be reimbursed about $8.50 per pair.

Initially before the claims arrived, the settlement established a maximum refund of $94 per pair. But the court noted that based on similar settlements, class members were expected to receive between $20 and $50 per pair.

Court documents noted that 67 percent of the claims were for two pairs of FiveFingers, the maximum number allowed in the suit for which no proof of purchase was required.

Vibram denied any wrongdoing in the case but settled “to avoid the substantial expense, burdens, and uncertainties associated with the continued litigation of these claims and cases,” according to court documents.

Vibram was also required to post banner ads with the settlement information on a number of websites, including runnersworld.com and Facebook.com, in order to deliver approximately 300 million impressions.
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