Milk Products Settlement

A $21 million Class Action Settlement to compensate consumers who purchased milk products from Fairlife, The Coca-Cola Company.

Class Action against The Coca-Cola Company, Fairlife and others settles for approximately $21 millions. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the final settlement agreement. Thus, if you purchased any of these affected milk products covered under the settlement, you can recover money from this settlement. Read more to find out how.

What exactly happened?

Notice Published by the Court explaining what the Fairlife Settlement is about.

On June 25, 2020, consumers filed a Class Action complaint against The Coca-Cola Company, fairlife, LLC, Fair Oaks Farms, LLC, Mike McCloskey and Sue McCloskey, and Select Milk Producers, Inc. According to the complaint, Defendants made false representations on their dairy products about the “humane” treatment of their cows. It further alleges that Defendants deceived consumers to pay a premium price on their products using these false representations.

“Defendants charge a premium for milk products branded under the name “fa!rlife” that promise the humane treatment of dairy cows. Defendants’ branding and promises are designed specifically to target consumers who are willing to pay more to ensure that the livestock used to create those Products are treated ethically and humanely. Unfortunately for consumers, this is not true.”
In re fairlife Milk Products Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, 1:19-cv-03924-RMD-MDW, MDL No. 2909.

The Class Action made serious allegations of breach of express and implied warranty, unjust enrichment, common law fraud, intentional and negligent misrepresentation, and violations of certain state consumer protection, false advertising, and unfair competition statutes.

According to the complaint, “Fairlife Products are purportedly sourced from farms operating under a collective which purports to ensure that its dairy cows are treated with “extraordinary animal care and comfort.” The collective—Select Milk—was formed by Defendants Mike and Sue McCloskey in 1994. Select Milk and Coca-Cola later created fairlife as a joint venture in 2012, with fairlife’s foundation purportedly being centered on responsible farming practices, and treating “[fairlife’s] cows better to help them produce the highest-quality milk possible.””

The back label of a Fairlife Milk carton mentions:
Extraordinary care and comfort for our cows;
Exceptional quality milk standards;
Traceability back to our farms;
Continual pursuit of sustainable farming.

The complaint alleges, “The very name of the Products themselves—“fairlife”—reinforces Defendants’ animal-welfare message. The word “fair”, it alleges, could mean “marked by impartiality and honesty”; “conforming with the established rules”; and, “clean, pure.” The name, fair-life, coupled with the image of a happy cow, misleads a reasonable consumer to assume that fairlife treats its animals humanely.

What’s the settlement about?

The complaint alleged that the treatment of cows at Defendants’ farms are far from fair or humane. The Complaint relied on several reports to show the ill-treatment of cattle, contrary to the Defendants’ claims.

Therefore, the complaint alleged, consumers were falsely induced to pay higher prices for the products. While falsely believing that the higher price they paid was supporting the “humane” treatment of the cows.

Defendants have denied all the allegations made in the complaint. Before the Court could decide upon the facts, Defendants agreed to settle the dispute for an aggregate amount of $21 millions. The settlement amount would be distributed to the members of the class under the Class Action Settlement Agreement.

Read the combined class action complaint against The Coca-Cola Company, Fairlife Milk and others here.

Can you be a part of this Class Action?

If you purchased any of these Milk Products Covered under the settlement, on or before April 27, 2022, you can file a claim to recover money as a Class Member. Anyone who purchased one or more of these products anywhere in the United States, including the District of Columbia, is eligible to be a member of the Class.

The products which are covered under this settlement agreement are:

Fair Oaks Farms Milk
Fair Oaks Farms Ice Cream
Fair Oaks Farms Butter
Fair Oaks Farms Yogurt
Fair Oaks Farms Eggnog
fairlife Ultra-Filtered Milk
fairlife DHA Milk
fairlife Core Power Protein Shakes
fairlife Core Power Elite Protein Shakes
fairlife Yup! Ultra-Filtered Milk
fairlife Nutrition Plan
fairlife Smart Snacks
fairlife Good Moo’d
fairlife Yogurt
fairlife Ice Cream
fairlife Creamer

For more specific information on each of the covered products, including the product code, refer to the Covered Products page here.

Not sure if you belong in the Class? Have other questions about the Settlement?

Visit the Official Settlement Website: https://www.fairlifemilksettlement.com/en
Email the Official Settlement Administrator at [email protected]
Call the Official Settlement Administrator at 1-855-604-1865 (Toll-Free)
Write to the Official Settlement Administrator at: In re fairlife Milk Products Litigation, P.O. Box 5569, Portland, OR 97228–5569.

What can you receive from this Class Action Settlement?

Consumers who submit a valid claim can receive Cash Awards from this settlement. Consumers may receive up to 25% of the money they spent on the covered products. The Maximum Cash Award is capped at $100 per household. However, this amount may vary depending upon the number of valid claims filed.

Claims without Valid Proof of Purchase: If you submit a claim without Valid Proof of Purchase, you may be eligible to receive a maximum of $20 as a Cash Award.
Claims with Valid Proof of Purchase: If you submit a Claim Form with Valid Proof of Purchase, you may be eligible to receive a maximum of $80 as a Cash Award.
Claims with AND without Valid Proof of Purchase: If you submit a ‘claim with valid proof of purchase’, you may also add ‘a claim without proof of purchase’ to it. This way, you may recover a maximum of $100 as a Cash Award.

A “Valid Proof of Purchase” includes any receipt, invoice, or other record showing the purchase of one or more Covered Products on or before April 27, 2022. Retail receipts, milk bottles, and other contemporaneous records of purchases that can be independently verified are valid proof of purchase.

Please remember, that the final settlement amount may change depending upon the final number of valid claims which are accepted.
You must submit your claims by December 27, 2022, to be eligible to receive settlement benefits.

How can you recover money from this Settlement?

To make a claim to recover money from the settlement, you must submit a Claim Form. You may make a claim with proof of purchase, without proof of purchase, or both.

Ways to Submit your claim:

Submit a claim online by filling up this form, on the Official Settlement Website.
Or you may download a Claim form here, and send it to the Settlement Administrator by post to “In re fairlife Milk Products Litigation, P.O. Box 5569, Portland, OR 97208–5569.” Please make sure to postmark the Claim Form by December 27, 2022.

If you do nothing and the Settlement is approved, you forever waive your right to sue the Released Parties for the Claims this Settlement resolves.

Where can you get more information about this?

For more information, visit the FAQ page on the official settlement website.

You can also contact the Settlement Administrator:
By email at: [email protected]
By mail at this mailing address:
In re fairlife Milk Products Litigation
P.O. Box 5569
Portland, OR 97228–5569

Or you may call the Settlement Administrator at 1-855-604-1865 (Toll-Free)
Call Center Hours: 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. PST
Monday – Friday except Holidays.

Milk Products Settlement