Herbalife

May 2015: After a final fairness hearing, a federal judge granted final approval of the proposed settlement of this class-action lawsuit.

March 2015: TINA.org filed an (Latin for “friend of the courts.”) A person or organization that is not a party to a lawsuit but has a significant interest in the case and offers information that may be important to the court’s determination. brief opposing the proposed settlement as unfair to consumers. To read TINA.org’s full brief, click here. For a summary of TINA.org’s efforts in this case, click here.

December 2014: A federal judge preliminarily approved a settlement of this class-action lawsuit. According to the proposed settlement terms:

• Class members who submit claims and return unused and unopened products may receive refunds;
• Class members who certify, among other things, that they joined Herbalife “primarily to pursue a business opportunity” and lost money may receive a cash award (the amount varies depending on how much class members spent on Herbalife products); and
• Herbalife will keep certain corporate policies in place for at least three years.

To read the settlement agreement and learn more, click here. A final fairness hearing is scheduled for May 11, 2015.

April 2013: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Herbalife (and amended in July 2014) alleging that the company is operating a An inherently deceptive form of multi-level marketing where participants are told they’ll get paid for recruiting other participants, and not necessarily for selling products or services. Typically, participants must pay some sort of initial investment in order to join, and will then earn a commission for each participant they recruit. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting consumers, pyramid schemes are doomed to collapse because the number of potential participants is limited. and deceptively claiming that consumers can make money by recruiting new members to the company and selling its products when, in reality, most Herbalife members don’t make any money at all. (Bostick et al. v. Herbalife International of America, Inc. et al., Case No. 13-cv-2488, C.D. Cal.)

For more information about other class-action lawsuits filed against Herbalife and TINA.org’s coverage of the company, click here.

For more information about pyramid schemes and TINA.org’s coverage of the topic, click here.