You’ve got two options: $50 worth of tuna or $25 in cash.
Such is the choice of consumers who purchased StarKist tuna anytime in the past six years. This week, the famed tuna titans settled a class-action lawsuit in which consumers accused the company of purposely under-filling cans of their beloved tuna.
Newsmax said that the lawsuit was first filed two years ago in Oakland (Calif.), and that part of the settlement agreement is that StarKist will not admit any wrongdoing.
The payouts — $8 million in cash or $4 million in vouchers for tuna — are available for anyone who purchased StarKist tuna between Feb. 19, 2009 and Oct. 31, 2014 in the following 5-ounce can varieties: Chunk Light Tuna in Water, Solid White Tuna in Water and Solid White Tuna in Oil.
Consumer expert Laura Northrup was quoted as saying that, in cases like this, large companies assume consumers haven’t kept receipts for their tuna purchases, so “they’re asking consumers to say on penalty of perjury” that they have, for sure, purchased one of the aforementioned types of tuna between the specified dates.
As often happens with class actions for small items, they’re assuming that you haven’t saved your last five years’ worth of grocery receipts. They’re asking consumers to say on penalty of perjury when they file a claim that they have, indeed, purchased tuna during the period covered by the suit.
Consumerist reported the settlement as well, noting that anyone who believes they’ve purchased the cans in question during the dates given can file their claim to tuna or cash at TunaLawsuit.com. The deadline for filing is Nov. 20.
The settlement website noted that the judge in the case didn’t “rule in favor of Plaintiff or StarKist,” but instead decided to grant the settlement, which was agreed to by both parties involved in the lawsuit.
A final hearing for the settlement, titled “Hendricks v. StarKist Co.,” will take place on Dec. 17.
