Bought Tuna Recently? StarKist May Owe You Money

If you purchased one of 4 varieties between 2009 and 2014
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 27, 2015 12:53 PM CDT
Bought Tuna Recently? StarKist May Owe You Money
A StarKist product is seen on a grocery store shelf June 30, 2008, in Boston.   (AP Photo/Lisa Poole)

Sorry, Charlie, time to pay up. StarKist is offering $25 in cash or $50 in free tuna to eligible consumers as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement worth a total of $12 million, the New York Times reports. Those who meet the qualifications—namely, that they're US residents who purchased a 5-ounce can of one of four varieties of the brand's tuna between Feb. 19, 2009, and Oct. 31, 2014—can file a claim online.

So what was fishy about the product to elicit this settlement? Plaintiff Patrick Hendricks claimed the company didn't fill the 5-ounce cans to capacity, and the independent testing he had done showed cans had 17.3% less tuna than the federally mandated minimum, the Times notes. Don't have your tuna receipts from 2009? The company is going on the honor system, under penalty of perjury, for those who file a claim, Consumerist reports. (Bumble Bee just settled its own tuna-related lawsuit, but this one was much worse.)

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