Customers ‘Shocked’ by Juul’s Hefty Clearance Payouts

The payouts range from $15 to $10,000, with an average of about $240, said Dena Sharp of the San Francisco law firm Girard & Sharp, who was lead counsel in the case.

Administrators of the deal, which involved Juul and tobacco giant Altria, which previously had a major stake in the company, began sending checks late last week. Electronic payments started on Monday.

Ms Sharp said more payments would be sent over the next few days.

“Please continue to be patient and give us some time to process these claims,” ​​he said.

More than 14 million people filed claims with the court, of which only about 842,000 were officially validated.

Ms Sharp said the tribunal followed a careful process to sift through the claims, looking for duplicates, signs of fraud and evidence of purchase.

About a quarter of recipients bought directly from the company, which makes it easier to verify their eligibility, he said.

The lawsuit alleged two things: that Juul customers paid more for the product than they should have if they had been provided with accurate information about its addiction and safety, and that the products were illegally marketed to minors. age

The court did not decide whether either company broke any laws.

Many of the people getting paid, like Mr. Feinstein, were pleasantly surprised by the sums and took to social media to celebrate.

“The money couldn’t have come at a better time, so I’m very grateful that they’re following through,” Feinstein said, adding that she could use some of the money to pay off her credit card debt.

Feinstein said she started smoking cigarettes at age 16 and tried various methods to quit. Eventually, vaping caught on.

For a few years, he was a loyal Juul customer, consuming a pod about every three days, and for several months participating in regular surveys the company conducted collecting data on his health and usage.

He eventually switched to other brands because of the cost, he said.

He said he thought Juul had been unfairly singled out among vaping companies by regulators.

“I’m grateful we got the deal, but I don’t think it was fair,” he confessed. “Does that make me a hypocrite? I don’t know.”