- California Natural is just one of the brands of dog and cat food that Natura manufactures.
If you’ve purchased a Natura product – Innova, EVO, California Natural, HealthWise, Mother Nature and Karma dog and cat foods – between March 20, 2005 and July 8, 2011, you could be eligible to receive up to $200 each as part of a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit.
About the lawsuit
The suit claims that Natura violated California’s Business and Professional code when advertising their dog and cat food products. It also claims that Natura made false and misleading statements about the human-grade quality of its food in advertisements, promotional materials and labeling.
The Defendants, Natura Pet Products, Inc., Natura Pet Food, Inc., Natura Manufacturing and Peter Atkins, deny that they did anything wrong, but in July agreed to the proposed settlement in order to avoid the inconvenience and costs of further litigation. The proposed settlement amount is $2,150,000.
How to submit a claim
According to the settlement, “All persons residing in the United States who purchased any Natura Product for personal, family, or household purposes during the time period from March 20, 2005 to July 8, 2011,” may submit a claim. Claims can be submitted online at www.petproductssettlement.com, or you can mail in a claim form. The claim forms are available for download in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the website. All claims must be submitted by January 8, 2012.
When to expect a check
The Court will hold a hearing on February 17, 2012, to decide whether to approve the settlement. If the Judge approves the settlement, there may be appeals. If your Claim is approved, you could receive your payment as soon as May 1, 2012. Payments could be delayed until a later date. Payments will only be made if the Court grants approval to the settlement and any appeals are resolved.
I feed my dogs California Natural, and have already submitted my claim. I’m not holding my breath that I’ll see a $200 check though. After deducting attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, the costs associated with administering the settlement and paying the Class Representative, the balance of the settlement fund will be distributed to Class Members. If a lot of claims are filed, and I’m assuming there will be, there won’t be much money leftover to send out.