Somewhere busey is crying: Vibram pays big to settle class action lawsuit

From Deadspin: " FiveFingers Maker Will Pay Millions To Suckers Who Bought Its Shoes"

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The favorite toe-shoe of vegan restaurant servers and 55-year-old men with ponytails has settled a class action lawsuit brought against it by what sounds like every person who ever wore its foot-condoms.

Runner's World Newswire's Matt McCue reports that though Vibram "expressly [denies] and continues to deny any wrongdoing alleged in the Actions, and neither admits nor concedes any actual or potential fault, wrongdoing or liability," the company has agreed to pay a lot of money.

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While I've always thought the shoes were silly and just a little bit ridiculous, I am not sure why Vibram thinks that they have to settle this case on such generous terms. The claims they made to sell their shoes seems like the usual advertising hyperbole, but maybe there are some bad stories in the lawsuit that we don't know about.

BTW, the original link is not really a serious news article, but this story is making the financial news, including the WSJ: " FiveFingers Maker Vibram Moves to Settle Suit Over Health Claims."

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The privately held company offered to pay a total of $3.75 million to people who bought the shoes and said it would stop making health claims in its advertisements.

The class-action plaintiffs in the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, argued that Vibram was able to charge nearly $100 a pair for the shoes on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that they strengthen muscles and prevent injury.

The proposed settlement was filed last week and is awaiting approval from the court.

If approved, customers who bought Vibram shoes as far back as March 2009 could be eligible for a refund of as much as $94 for every pair they purchased, according to the court filing. More than two dozen models of Vibram shoes would qualify.

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