- A class action lawsuit accuses the retail giant of overcharging for certain items
- Shoppers must submit a claim form by June 5 to receive payment
- Those without a receipt are only entitled to between $10 and $25
Walmart will pay $45 million as part of a legal settlement – and that’s how customers can get their hands on the payout.
The class action lawsuit was filed in Florida after shoppers accused the retail giant of overcharging for certain items based on weight, such as fruits and vegetables.
The settlement class includes those who purchased personally weighed merchandise or bagged citrus fruits at a Walmart in the United States or Puerto Rico between October 18, 2018 and January 19, 2024.
The maximum amount Walmart will pay to each customer is $500. Claims forms can be filed online or mailed before June 5, but customers must submit an application to receive payment.
Walmart will pay $45 million as part of a legal settlement – and that’s how customers can get their hands on the payout
Customers are entitled to up to $500 per person, but must submit claim forms by June 5 to receive payment
The lawsuit alleges that Walmart “falsely inflates product weight” and overcharges customers for certain “weighed merchandise” and “bagged citrus fruits.”
The lawsuit alleged that Walmart “improperly inflated the weight of the product” and overcharged shoppers. The eligible weighed goods include meat, poultry, pork and seafood products that are labeled with a barcode embedded in the price and designated by Walmart as part of the Department 93 products.
As for bagged citrus, that includes organic oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and navel oranges sold in bulk in mesh or plastic bags. The terms exclude online and resale purchases.
The amount paid out to each customer will depend not only on the number of people who file claims, but also on whether the U.S. District Court in Tampa decides to approve the settlement itself. That decision is expected to be made in June.
Customers with a receipt, proof of purchase or other documentation can get 2 percent of the total cost back, up to a maximum of $500.
For those who do not have a receipt, that amount drops significantly. The distribution is as follows:
- For purchases of 50 claimed eligible items, shoppers are entitled to $10.
- For purchases of 51 to 75 claimed eligible items, shoppers are entitled to $15
- For purchases of 76 to 100 claimed eligible items, shoppers are entitled to $20
- For purchases of 101 or more claimed eligible items, shoppers are entitled to $25
The deadline to appeal, comment or be excluded from the settlement — which means people won’t receive payment but reserve the right to sue the company — is May 22.
Customers with a receipt, proof of purchase or other documentation can get 2 percent of the total cost back up to $500, but customers without a receipt are entitled to only a fraction of that
Online purchases and resale purchases are not covered by the terms of the settlement
The deadline to appeal, comment, or be excluded from the settlement (which means people don’t receive payment but reserve the right to sue the company) is May 22.
A class action complaint reviewed by DailyMail.com alleges that Walmart’s “false, misleading, dishonest and deceptive conduct” is a direct violation of state consumer protection laws and state common law.
In a statement, a Walmart representative denied the allegations but admitted that a settlement was “in the best interest of both parties.”
Vassilios Kukorinis, a man from Tampa, was the first to raise the alarm about the overload.
According to Kukorinis, the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit, the costs at the checkout were higher than the prices that should have been based on the store’s published prices by weight.
He visited Walmart stores across the state to gather evidence, which he then presented to lawyers from the Manhattan-based firm Morgan & Morgan.
Morgan & Morgan sent its own investigators to Walmart stores before filing a class action complaint in February 2019.
In November 2019, Kukorinis flew to California with lawyers for a mediation session with the retail chain.
Morgan & Morgan subsequently reached a settlement with Walmart’s lawyers at Greenberg Traurig, but Kukorinis claimed he was not informed of the outcome.
In 2020, the Florida man vowed not to accept his $25,000 service award because he viewed the settlement as a “betrayal of all members of the class action, orchestrated without my knowledge.”