Recently I received a postcard in the mail worth “$5.03 towards the purchase of any StarKist product.” Here that is the equivalent of about three and a half tins of canned tuna fish such as pictured above. I couldn’t remember why I was sent this coupon, so I looked up the lawsuit that was being settled in this manner.
A number of years ago, some consumers sued StarKist accusing them of putting less than the stated weight of tuna in each can. I must admit it had never occurred to me to study the contents of the tin, so rushed was I to add mayonnaise and make a sandwich. But apparently someone with more free time had determined a consistent shortage of fish. When the cheated consumer went to a law firm, the lawyers must have quickly realized they had a real “catch” on their hands. After all, many Americans eat StarKist and most likely had also been shortchanged. Class action lawsuit in the making thought the legal team.
You may have seen television ads urging you to contact a law firm if you have used some medicine or had some surgical procedure or worked with asbestos. They want you to join in a class action lawsuit because “millions and millions of dollars have been set aside to reimburse people.” In the StarKist case, twelve million dollars was settled upon. Four million of this went to the legal team. The other eight million was divided among everyone who had filled out a claim form on line that they had bought StarKist. I must have filed a claim that way, “lured” by the promise of big money.
$5.03. Not bad for a grievance I didn’t even know I had.
Saved By Words 
Glad to hear you got your ‘settlement’, Elizabeth.
I cannot stand Tuna, and only ate it once.
Once was enough. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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That’s funny. It was a staple of my childhood–tuna and noodles and tuna sandwiches. It was the only fish I had ever eaten as a kid.
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If only real justice could be served up so easily! 😁
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LOL
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Oh tuna, we have lots of brands here too including that one.
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We have received so many of those in the mail. The only big one I remember was the Da Beers Diamond lawsuit. $295 million distributed to resellers and consumers.I read that your original payout was anticipated to be $50 but so many people responded it cut the payout dramatically. I guess tuna is pretty popular.
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A friend told me he has a check for 48 cents pinned on his garage wall to remind him the slim pickings of such lawsuits.
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I had a similar experience on a larger scale. When I bought my Ford C-Max, one of the most significant selling points for me was the proclaimed gas mileage of 47 miles per gallon. Perhaps it is because I am generally skeptical of car manufacturers’ claims, but I figured that was somewhat of an exaggeration. After driving my car for quite some time, I realized my hypothesis was correct. There are short trips in town (unlike most vehicles, hybrids perform better in town instead of on the highway), where I got substantially higher mileage. Still, over the course of a tank of gas, I usually averaged around 40 mpg. Somebody called Ford on their exaggerated claims. I got three substantial checks (I don’t remember the exact amount, but I think each was a few hundred dollars each) in the mail during the next year. That was a pleasant surprise.
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A friend at church ended up with a new Volkswagen because of their lies about emissions. Some class actions are worth it. Just not the tuna one.
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I think the most I ever got was $12 from a vehicle lawsuit. Yippee?
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“Hope you spent it on the boys.” says my dog.
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Haha, my dad gets checks for these all the time. A little $20 here and a little $15 there. He just got one last week!
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He obviously is the target audience for those class action ads!
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He apparently is! I should start listening put for some, myself. I’ve been here long enough to deserve some compensation now! Haha.
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Good point. I can see the ad now. “Are you an immigrant harassed by Trump? You may be entitled to compensation.”
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Haha, did you hear he’s in Atlanta seeking Black voters? I wonder how successful that will be for him. I’m genuinely curious. There are a lot of older Black people in the South who are anti-gay, anti-immigrant and super religious.
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I guess he had an audience of 400. They all fit in a conference room.
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Wow. I wonder if they went out of support or curiosity.
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Maybe they got paid from his charitable foundation. LOL
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LoL maybe they did! I’m sure I’ll hear more about it in the next week or so. My dad tends to keep up with these things!
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I am certainly curious how he even found 400.
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Nothing that man does surprises me anymore…
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