On Monday a federal judge in Louisville approved a $40 million settlement in a class-action suit against Skechers USA Inc. The suit was brought by consumers who alleged the company’s ads made unfounded claims that Skechers fitness shoes would help them lose weight and strengthen muscles.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the settlement grew out of consumer complaints over a series of Skechers ads featuring celebrity endorsers such as Kim Kardashian and Brooke Burke. The ads claimed that Skecher’s shoe design requires wearers to “use more energy with every step,” thereby helping them lose weight and strengthen butt, leg, and stomach muscles. Skechers reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that bars the company from running the ads in the future.
U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell approved the deal, which covers more than 520,000 claims, the AP reports. Consumers will be able to get a maximum repayment for their shoe purchase: up to $80 per pair of Shape-Ups; $84 per pair of Resistance Runner shoes; up to $54 per pair of Podded Sole Shoes; and $40 per pair of Tone-Ups. In addition, Russell awarded $5 million to the attorneys but said this money cannot come from the $40 million for consumer reimbursement.
The company, though denying the allegations in the lawsuits, said it agreed to a settlement to avoid long litigation. If consumer claims do not exhaust the entire $40 million, Judge Russell ordered the remaining the money to go to the Federal Trade Commission, the AP reports.
