If You Purchased Webkinz And “Core Line” Products In The United States Between January 1, 2005 And December 31, 2008 Directly From Ganz, Inc. Or Ganz U.S.A., LLC, Your Rights May Be Affected By A Class Action Settlement.
A class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Ganz, Inc. and Ganz U.S.A., LLC (“Ganz” or the “Settling Defendants”) pending in the United States District Court Central District of California (styled In re: Webkinz Antitrust Litigation, Class Action Case No. M:08-cv-01987-RS; MDL No.1987), alleging, among other things, violations of antitrust and unfair trade practices laws in connection with the sale of Webkinz product and “core line” product and that the alleged conditioned sale of Webkinz product on the purchase of Ganz “core line” product resulted in anti-competitive effect on each of four (4) tied product markets: the Plush Market, the Souvenirs and Novelties Market, the Home Decorative Accessories Market, and the Seasonal Decorations Market, according to the Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy class action settlement notice.
You are reportedly a Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy settlement class member if you purchased one or more “core line” products as a condition to buying Webkinz in the United States directly from one or more of the Defendants listed above (or their subsidiaries or affiliates) between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2008; and, you do not exclude yourself from the Class. Specifically, the class reportedly includes all persons and entities in the United States who were required as a condition of their purchase of Webkinz to purchase products from Ganz’ “core line” of products within the Plush Market, Souvenirs and Novelties Market, Home Decorative Accessories Market, and/or Seasonal Decorations Market.
The Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy Settlement requires the payment of Two Million Five Hundred Seventy-Five Thousand U.S. Dollars ($2,575,000.00). If the Settlement is approved by the District Court and becomes effective, Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy Class Members will be able to share in proceeds from the Settlement (and interest thereon pending distribution) after payment of attorney’s fees, expenses, any incentive award and costs of the Settlement, notice, and administration (the “Net Settlement Fund”).
A final approval hearing will be held on September 13, 2012 at 2:30 pm before the Hon. Richard Seeborg, in Courtroom 3, on the 17th Floor of the United States District Courthouse, at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102. At that hearing, Judge Seeborg will determine whether the proposed Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy Settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable to the Class and, therefore, whether this litigation should be dismissed with prejudice against the Settling Defendants.
For more information about the proposed Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy class action settlement, visit the Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy settlement website:
www.plushtoyssettlement.com
If You Have Thoughts On The Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, Share Your Ganz Webkinz Plush Toy Class Action Settlement Comments Below.
HOW DOES ONE KNOW IF THEY ARE PART OF THE SETTLEMENT ?
I BOUGHT TONS FOR MY THREE GRAND CHILDREN.
THANK YOU,
pbrennan22@verizon.net
The class action is for stores that were forced to purchase core product to receive webkins or priority for webkins shipments. I was part of the original webkins frenzy in Florida at my store at the time. We were forced to buy tons of “crap” in order to get any reasonable quantity of webkins. It was horrible. Also, we were originally guaranteed that the “small stores” would have an exclusive over stores like Macys, Target, etc. Of course that turned out to be bs as well. So, we got stuck with tons of garbage inventory and then were in competition with the bigger stores and their sales. It put many of us “independents” out of business. What a fiasco!!!! It’s about time we get some compensation for all their wrong doing.
We were also apart of this fiasco too! We were promised the same. And were delivered the same! And it did take part in putting us out of business!
Ditto on what Ronna and Nikki said above! I actually just received my payment from the litigation that was completed on this lawsuit and it doesn’t even come close to paying me back for all the “crap” inventory that I never was able to sell, about $40,000 worth at retail. I couldn’t even sell it at cost. Then, Ganz put their Collection Agency on me when I couldn’t pay the bill. The bill was over my terms limit because the rep approved the overages without my consent! By the time I received the product, Ganz wouldn’t take it back! Go figure! This company is crooked to lie to all their merchants and then collect on payments for merchandise that in my opinion wasn’t all it was cracked up to be by their sales reps. It was also crooked of them to allow a sales rep to drive up a $20,000 balance on my terms account. It’s basically useless junk that no one would even be able to get rid of in a garage sale. It will be another two years before I pay off the balance with the agreement I arranged with their collector. This was a huge and costly lesson learned for me, when I was completely new to running a business and dealing with manufacturer sales reps! Now I don’t trust sales reps very much. I’m very jaded at this point in these areas. So, if you are reading this and just started a new business, beware of reps that talk big about top sellers! Do your own research and find out how well the products you are thinking of buying for your shop are really doing in your area. Go to the other stores that sell that stuff and touch and feel it for yourself before you decide to buy product to put on your shelves. Also, don’t ever let a company bully you into purchasing products you don’t want to sell just so you can get the product you do want to sell! Just say NO!!! Especially to GANZ!