Vibram FiveFingers Barefoot Running Shoes Class Action Lawsuit

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UPDATE 5/9/14: Vibram USA Inc. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the company of falsely advertising the health benefits of its FiveFingers footwear.

UPDATE 5/13/14: The settlement administrator website (http://www.fivefingerssettlement.com/) is live, but there is not yet a claim form available to sign up. We expect the claim form to be available within 60 days and we will post an update when it is made available. 

UPDATE 5/29/14: Claim Forms for the Vibram class action settlement are now available! Click here for detailed instructions on how to file a claim.

UPDATE 11/20/14: The Final Fairness Hearing for the Vibram FiveFingers settlement was held on Oct. 29, 2014 and the plaintiffs have asked the judge to grant final approval to the deal. On Nov. 19, 2014, an objection was filed with the court and may delay the final approval of the class action settlement. The objector argues that the FiveFingers settlement is unfair to Class Members because they would receive benefits that are of substantially less value than was estimated in the notice.

UPDATE 12/31/15: On Dec. 31, 2015, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Vibram FiveFingers class action settlement, finding that the payout to Class Members is fair even if they will receive a far smaller refund than was estimated in the Class Notice.

Vibram has been hit with a second class action lawsuit over its FiveFingers “barefoot” running shoes, claiming the company makes unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of the shoes, which may actually increase the risk of injury.

Lead Plaintiff Ali Safavi alleges in the Vibram FiveFingers class action lawsuit that the shoes, which are supposed to replicate the benefits of barefoot running, don’t perform as advertised. The deceptive advertising claims are similar to those made in a Massachusetts Vibram FiveFingers class action lawsuit filed in April 2012, and a June 2012 class action lawsuit against Adidas over its adiPure barefoot running shoes.

Vibram advertises that its FiveFingers shoes provide certain benefits to wearers, including strengthening muscles in their feet and lower legs; improving range of motion in ankles, feet and toes; stimulating neural function to improve balance and agility; eliminating heel lift to align the spine and improve posture; and allowing the foot and body to move naturally, “Which just feels good.”

These advertising messages “give the impression to reasonable consumers that there is scientific evidence supporting the specific health-benefit representations” Vibram makes about FiveFingers barefoot running shoes, the class action lawsuit says.

However, “unbeknownst to consumers, Defendants’ health benefit claims are false and deceptive because FiveFingers are not proven to provide any of the health benefits beyond what conventional running shoes provide. With conventional running shoes, the runner runs with a heel-strike manner. But with FiveFingers, a runner must run with a forefoot strike pattern. This process, necessary with FiveFingers, can be long and painful, and can even lead to injuries.”

The new Vibram FiveFingers class action lawsuit, filed in California federal court, cites a University of Wisconsin study that found runners often have to change their gait when switching to FiveFingers running shoes. Adapting to the shoes may involve an “injury-fraught regimen,” the class action lawsuit says.

It is seeking restitution and damages for a proposed class of all California consumers who purchased FiveFingers running shoes from the time they were first sold in California until the present, based on claims of breach of express warranty and violations of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

A copy of the California Vibram FiveFingers False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is Ali Safavi v. Vibram USA, Inc. and Vibram FiveFingers, LLC, Case No. 12-cv-5900, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.