Bruce Steckler is lead counsel In re: Easysaver Rewards Litigation. After seven (7) years of litigation, the Honorable Cynthia Bashant for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California on August 9, 2016 approved a class settlement with Provide Commerce, Inc. and Encore Marketing International for their marketing practices in which class members were unknowingly enrolled in a Rewards Program when they sought a $15.00 discount and were charged monthly fees without their consent. The settlement provided a $12.5 million dollar cash fund to fully reimburse all class members that had been charged without their consent and provided $20.00 transferable merchandise credits to be used by class members. The total settlement provides a $38 million dollar value to the class.
The settlement was originally approved in February 2013 by the District Court, despite an objection in which the Objector got a full refund. The Objector claimed the case was a “coupon settlement.” The objector appealed and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the district court’s judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings to ensure compliance with In re: Online DVD-Rental Antitrust Litig., 779 F.3rd 934 (9th Cir. 2015). On remand, the District Court found that this was not a “coupon settlement” and upheld the original class settlement for $38 million dollars.
Read the full court order approving the settlement here.
