L. Timothy Fisher
SAN FRANCISCO - The class action firm Bursor & Fisher is asking two judges to approve a total of about $3 million in fees from separate settlements - one involving Poppi Prebiotic Sodas and another with Keurig.
On Aug. 12 in San Francisco federal court, the firm asked for $2,670,000 from an $8.9 million settlement with VNGR, the maker of Poppi sodas that scored a $1.95 billion purchase by PepsiCo ealier this year.
The drink once appeared on the show "Shark Tank," but a May 2024 lawsuit said consumers would need to drink four Poppi sodas per day to experience any health benefits, making claims of "gut-healthy" misleading.
Given the sugar content, drinking four a day would cause adverse health effects like abdominal discomfort and liver damage, the suit claims.
The case does not concern any injuries caused by Poppi sodas, only that customers paid a "price premium" by paying more for a soda because they allegedly thought it was healthier than it is.
Bursor & Fisher said that price premium would probably be between 13 and 25 cents per soda. Under the settlement, class members are entitled to 75 cents per can, $3 for four-packs, $6 per eight-pack and $9 per 12- or 15-pack.
There is a minimum payment of $5.
"And, although the $8.9 million gross settlement amount may be less than the maximum amount Plaintiffs could potentially recover if fully successful at trial, it is reasonable in light of the risks of proceeding to trial," Timothy Fisher for Bursor & Fisher wrote when asking for court approval of the settlement.
"Given that Defendant moved to dismiss all of Plaintiffs' claims, this settlement is outstanding as Defendant could have prevailed on the motion to dismiss, narrowed the scope of the products at issue, the breadth of the class, and/or the claims."
Anything left in the fund after claims are final will be donated to Feeding America. Other plaintiff firms participating in the settlement are Gutride Safier, Gucovschi Rozenshteyn and Kaplan, Fox & Kilsheimer.
A day earlier in New York federal court, the firm asked for $316,666 from a $950,000 with Keurig Green Mountain. Plaintiff Doreen Cahill alleged that the cleaning program known as descaling "completely disables the coffee makers."
"The problem occurs because the coffee makers allow the water reservoir to empty completely during the descaling process without stopping to tell the user to add more water, causing the coffee makers to overheat and trip a practically inaccessible thermal switch within them, rendering them unusable," the suit says.
The complaint says users must take apart the Keurigs and use a paper clip to hit a small reset button. The defect occurs on all three K-Supreme Coffee Makers, it adds.
The settlement also includes an extended warranty for class members. The motion for fees says the suit came "with significant risks."
"Though tens of thousands of complaints had been made to Keurig about the issue, there were significant questions of fact that posed genuine hurdles for Plaintiffs at class certification, summary judgment and beyond," it says.
"At the time of the settlement, Keurig was prepared to engage in further fact and expert discovery in anticipation of its forthcoming motion for summary judgment and had made it clear that it would vigorously contest the certification of a litigation class."