Wine.com facing $1 Mil class action settlement, but impact may be less than it appears

Related article: How is it that Wine.com will probably get a softer landing in its class action lawsuit settlement? The details

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Wine.com may be on the hook for almost $1 million if a class action lawsuit settlement meets court approval at the end of next month.

However, the settlement’s fine print could offer a much softer financial landing for Wine.com than the bottom-line numbers may suggest.

As with many class-action settlements, Wine.com may actually pay more to the plaintiff’s attorneys than to its affected consumers.

Oct. 2013 complaint focuses on free shipping program

The class action lawsuit was brought in October 2013 by a San Francisco resident who claimed in his filings that the free shipping provisions of Wine.com’s premium StewardShip program were not actually free and that the company failed to properly inform him that the $49 cost would be automatically charged annually and could go up upon renewal.

Wine.com denies wrongdoing

Michael J. Osborn, Wine.com Founder & VP Merchandising said:”Wine.com vigorously contests the claims asserted in the case, including that we engaged in any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, in an effort to avoid the uncertainties of litigation, we have entered into an agreement to resolve the case through settlement.”

The complete text of Osbourn’s statement can be accessed at this link.

The full text of the settlement is available at the Wine.com settlement website.

Wine Executive News subscribers please click here to read the complete 1,299-word article.

Also In This Article:

The full text of the following sections is available to premium subscribers of Wine Executive News.

• 52,050 Wine.com customers in eligible classes

• It all began with two bottles of Hogue and a Brancott

• Plaintiff alleges that “free” was not really free

• How is the compensation to be divvied up?

• Law firms from three states involved in the litigation

• Significant legal deadlines and dates (chart)

Selected Full-Length Court Documents Available To Premium Subscribers

• Original Class Action Complaint (10/07/13)
• Preliminary settlement details (10/22/14)
• How settlement was calculated (10/22/14)
• Class Action Court Order (05/27/15)

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