Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., falsely advertised some of its products as made in Belgium to ride on the craze of consumers towards Belgian chocolates. However, the chocolates were locally manufactured in the USA. This has caused plaintiffs to file a class action claim-making them eligible for a total settlement fund of $15 million according to the terms mentioned below:
Eligibility For Making Claim: Class Member comprises of all individuals who are residents of the United States and purchased a single or multiple Godiva Chocolate products either from a retail establishment or directly from Godiva between 31st January 2015 and 26th October 2021.
Proof Of Purchase: Proof of purchase includes paid invoice, receipts, copies of receipts, or similar document showing that the Class Member bought the same from a retail establishment or Godiva.
Potential Claim Amount:
- Without proof of purchase, claimants of a household are eligible to claim $1.25 per purchased product up to a maximum of $15 depending on the number of eligible Godiva Chocolate products purchased between 31st January 2015 and 26th October 2021.
- With proof of purchase, claimants of a household are eligible to claim $1.25 per purchased product up to a maximum of up to $25 depending on the number of eligible Godiva Chocolate products purchased between 31st January 2015 and 26th October 2021.
Class members having the same mailing address and living in the same household are entitled to a maximum collective payment of $15 or $25 as the case may be irrespective of submitting separate Claim Forms.
Case Summary: Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., has been accused by the plaintiffs of engaging in false advertising and promoting certain specified chocolate products as being made in Belgium just to garner greater customer following when the reality is substantially different. The “Belgium 1926” statement appearing on the label is highly misleading. However, Godiva has not agreed to any wrongdoing and no ruling has been passed by the court in the favor of either party. Both the parties have agreed to the proposed settlement to save from the hassles of further litigation.
Claim Form: http://www.godivachocolatesettlement.com/
Deadline for Submitting Claim: 02/23/2022
Final Hearing Date: 03/28/2022
Settlement Pool: $15,000,000
Important Note: The last date to object against or opt-out of the settlement is 7th March 2022. The settlement benefit of class members is going to be reduced on a pro-rata basis if the aggregate total monetary value of the valid claim forms submitted by all the class members exceeds $15 million. This class action settlement is expected to end all claims that the misleading Godiva’s “Belgium 1926” packaging tricked around 18 million U.S. customers into thinking that the chocolate was manufactured in Belgium. As per the plaintiffs, Godiva is banking on Belgium’s reputation of being the finest chocolate manufacturers in the world and has been duping customers into believing that their products have been purchased from that country. The class-action lawsuit against Godiva has alleged that the chocolate company has violated the consumer protection laws of California and New York.
Case Name: Hesse, et al. v. Godiva Chocolatier Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-00927-AJN in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Claims Administrator
Hesse, et al. v. Godiva Chocolatier, Inc. c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC
PO Box 225391
New York, NY 10150-5391
[email protected]
833-765-2229
Class Counsel
Innessa Melamed Huot
Timothy J. Peter
FARUQI & FARUQI LLP
Aubry Wand
THE WAND LAW FIRM PC
Defense Counsel
Dennis C. Hopkins
Thomas J. Tobin
David T. Biderman
PERKINS COIE LLP