Frosted Mini-Wheats Class Action Settlement Approved – Again

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A California federal judge on Friday granted preliminary approval to a $4 million class action lawsuit settlement between Kellogg Co. and consumers who allege the company falsely advertised the brain-boosting power of its Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal.

U.S. District Judge Irma E. Gonzalez preliminarily approved the Kellogg Frosted Mini-Wheats settlement on May 5, which will establish a $4 million fund to pay out Class Members who submit valid claims. Any remaining money not claimed will be distributed equally among charities.

The settlement resolves a 2009 class action lawsuit by consumers who claim that Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats ads and product labels made false and unsubstantiated representations that the cereal was clinically proven to improve children’s attentiveness by nearly 20 percent. This assertion was supposedly based on a study of kids who ate Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast compared to children who did not eat breakfast.

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, however – which investigated the alleged false advertising statements and reached a settlement with Kellogg in April 2009 — only one in seven children in the study improved their attentiveness by 18 percent or more. Only around one in nine children improved by 20 percent.

A $10 million class action lawsuit settlement was reached in October 2010, but it was reversed two years later by the Ninth Circuit, which found the terms of the agreement were “too vague” and unfairly compensated Class Members compared to what plaintiff attorneys would have received.

In approving the revised settlement deal, Judge Gonzalez said several aspects of the agreement “give the court pause.” One of these was the significant reduction in the cash value of settlement from $10.5 million to $4 million, which only slightly affected the attorneys’ fees.

“How did mere identification of proper cy pres recipients result in such a severe drop in the value of the class’ claims?” Judge Gonzalez asked in the order. “How is it that the value to the class dropped approximately 75 percent, while requested attorneys’ fees appear nearly constant? These concerns are especially troubling given the Ninth Circuit previous admonishments to the parties over both illusory dollar values and excessive attorneys’ fees.”

Despite these questions, Gonzalez found the settlement falls within the range of possible approval and therefore approved the settlement. She did, however, order the parties to fully address her concerns in their final approval briefing and at the Final Approval Hearing scheduled for September 9, 2013.

She also conditionally certified a class consisting of all persons or entities in the U.S. who purchased Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal from January 28, 2008 through October 1, 2009.

Details on how to file a claim for the Frosted Mini-Wheats Class Action Lawsuit Settlement were not immediately available. Keep checking Top Class Actions or sign up for settlement alerts below to stay informed.

The case is Dennis v. Kellogg Co., Case No. 9-cv-01786, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: Details on how to file a claim for the Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats Class Action Settlement are up!

UPDATE 2: Distribution of the Frosted Mini-Wheats class action settlement is being delayed by appeals. If the settlement is overturned on appeal, no cash payment will be made to Class Members. Keep checking TopClassActions.com for updates.

UPDATE 3: On Apr. 18, 2016, Class Members who submitted timely and valid claims for the Kellogg’s settlement began receiving checks worth as much as $11.44.

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