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Juul settled a class-action lawsuit. Some users are getting big payouts.
The lawsuits alleged that Juul misled consumers about the risks and addictiveness of its products and specifically targeted young people.
Some consumers who used Juul vaping products say they have begun receiving payouts as part of major class-action lawsuitsettlements, the last of which was finalized earlier this year.
A number of social media users said they received payments, most ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars, via Venmo after Juul Labs and Altria Group – which formerly held a minority investment in Juul – both finalized settlements. The lawsuits alleged that Juul misled consumers about the risks and addictiveness of its products and specifically targeted young people. The suits included plaintiffs who bought Juul products from bricks-and-mortar or online shops before Dec. 6, 2022.
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Under the agreements, Juul and Altria agreed to pay $255 million and $45.5 million, respectively. A federal judge in California authorized the distribution of almost $202 million in funds – the amount remaining after taxes and other costs – in early October. That figure will be shared among the 842,000 valid claims.
Payouts varied because they were in part calculated based on the amount claimants could prove they spent on Juul products. The minimum amount distributed for eligible claims was $15.
The deadline for submitting claims has already passed.
One TikTok user said he bought 120 four-pack boxes of Juul pods over the course of two years and received almost $1,100 via Venmo. Other social media users spoke of their regret at not filing claims before the deadline.
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Some users said they had not paid much attention while filling in the forms and were surprised to receive their payments.
“Randomly filled out one of those JUUL class action settlements last year and them folks just sent me $300, who wants lunch tomorrow?” one user of the social media platform X wrote.
A TikTok user said she had forgotten about completing the claim. “POV: you just got $3k Venmo from a class-action lawsuit against JUUL you forgot you filled out as a JOKE 2 years ago in college,” the text on her video, posted earlier this week, said.
Dena Sharp, the lawyer representing the classes of Juul purchasers, said in an emailed statement Wednesday: “We are delighted to see the legal system delivering results by getting real money into the hands of class members who purchased Juul products.”
Sharp said the settlement “was the vehicle for the majority of the cases against Juul pending around the country,” but noted that “there are lingering cases still pending that are scattered across the country.”
Juul Labs saidin a statement Wednesday that the payments were being managed by a settlement trust and not the company itself.
“We are pleased to have resolved the vast majority of the company’s past legal issues and are focused on advancing our mission, including our efforts to combat underage use of our products,” the statement said.
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David Sutton, from Altria’s media relations department, confirmed in an email Wednesday that the settlement administrator had begun issuing individual payments but gave no further comment on the settlement agreement.
There has been mounting pressure on Juul in recent years: In June 2022, the Food and Drug Administration banned Juul products, citing “insufficient and conflicting data” about damage to DNA and potentially harmful chemicals leaching from the company’s cartridges. However, the FDA reversed the decision earlier this year and Juul products remained on shelves while the company appealed.
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