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FiveFingers footwear maker settles class-action suit

BOSTON — Vibram USA, the maker of a glove-like running shoe, has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit which accused the company of falsely advertising the health benefits of its minimalist footwear.

BOSTON — Vibram USA, the maker of a glove-like running shoe, has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit which accused the company of falsely advertising the health benefits of its minimalist footwear.

Vibram, who advertised the FiveFingers running shoes claiming it could “reduce foot injuries and strengthen foot muscles”, was sued by runner Valerie Bezdek in March 2012.

Bezdek’s class action suit alleged that Vibram deceived consumers by advertising that the footwear could reduce foot injuries and strengthen foot muscles, without basing those assertions on any scientific merit.

While agreeing to settle the suit “to put the matter to rest and avoid any additional legal expenses”, Vibram has “expressly (denies) and continues to deny any wrongdoing alleged in the Actions, and neither admits nor concedes any actual or potential fault, wrongdoing or liability.”

“We continue to expressly deny the allegations in the suit,” Vibram USA chief executive Mike Gionfriddo told the Wall Street Journal.

The company has, however, agreed to deposit US$3.75 million (S$4.7 million) into an escrow account which will be used to pay up to US$94 per pair of shoes purchased. More than two dozen models of Vibram’s FiveFingers shoes qualify for a refund.

Vibram also agreed to discontinue some aspects of its advertising and marketing campaigns and will make no other statements about the health benefits of FiveFingers without verifiable scientific evidence.

Vibram is required to publish the terms of the agreement on a website, www.fivefingerssettlement.com, and post banner ads with the settlement information on a number of websites, including runnersworld.com and Facebook.com, in order to deliver approximately 300,000,000 impressions.

The class action suit called Vibram’s claims “deceptive” and stated “that FiveFingers may increase injury risk as compared to running in conventional running shoes, and even when compared to running barefoot”.

It was never disclosed if Bezdek, who filed her suit one year after purchasing her pair of Vibram Bikilas, tried first to seek a refund for her shoes prior to initiating the lawsuit.

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