If you bought a pair of Costa Del Mar sunglasses before July 28, 2013, and later had to pay to have them repaired, you may be eligible for part of the proceeds from a class-action lawsuit.
The U.S. District Court in Jacksonville preliminarily approved Sept. 3 a settlement in a complaint filed in August 2018 on behalf of three named plaintiffs and all others similarly situated by Peter Hargitai, an attorney in the Holland & Knight law firm’s Jacksonville office.
The plaintiffs contended that Daytona Beach-based Costa Del Mar for many years sold its products with a “lifetime warranty,” but then charged customers a fee for repairs.
The lawsuit alleged that Costa Del Mar violated the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which requires companies that offer a “lifetime warranty” to repair or replace defective consumer products without charge.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, filed Aug. 20 with the court, Costa agrees to issue vouchers ranging from $8.99 to $19.99 for each claim, redeemable for any item offered for sale on Costa Del Mar’s website.
The settlement certifies four classes in the action:
• Florida purchase class: All Florida citizens who purchased Costa nonprescription sunglasses from July 28, 2013-Jan. 31, 2018.
• Florida repair class: All citizens of Florida who purchased Costa nonprescription sunglasses before Jan. 1, 2018, and were charged a fee by Costa, from July 28, 2012, through the date of entry of the court’s final order, to repair or replace their Costa nonprescription sunglasses damaged by accident, normal wear and tear or misuse.
• Nationwide repair class: All citizens of the U.S., excluding citizens of Florida, who purchased Costa nonprescription sunglasses before Jan. 1, 2018, and were charged a repair fee by Costa, from April 3, 2015, through the date of entry of the court’s final order, to repair or replace their Costa nonprescription sunglasses damaged by accident, normal wear and tear or misuse.
• Warranty class: All citizens of the U.S. who purchased nonprescription Costa sunglasses prior to Jan. 1, 2016, and paid Costa a warranty fee to repair or replace non-prescription sunglasses damaged by a manufacturer’s defect from Aug. 20, 2013, through the date of entry of the court’s final order.
Members of the Florida repair and nationwide repair classes will receive vouchers for $19.99; members of the Florida purchase class with receive vouchers for $10.99; and members of the warranty class will receive vouchers for $8.99.
Class members will be exempt from paying shipping or sales tax when they redeem their vouchers, according to the settlement.
The court orders Costa to provide the identities and last known addresses of all class members and that each be notified by electronic or first-class mail no later than Sept. 30 that they are a class member in the proposed settlement.
A hearing for final approval of the settlement and for plaintiffs’ attorney fees, costs and expenses, is scheduled April 21 at the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse in Jacksonville.