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LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION

$30M Preliminary Settlement Approved in Sylvania Silverstar Headlamp Consumer Fraud Class Action Lawsuit


This is a settlement for the lawsuit.

San Francisco, CA: A preliminary $30 million settlement has been approved in the consumer fraud class action lawsuit pending against Sylvania. The lawsuit alleges the company made false and misleading claims regarding the effectiveness of its headlights in an effort to boost the sales price and subsequent profits.

Under the settlement terms, millions of class members will be able to submit claims for a partial refund on Sylvania's SilverStar headlights.

Sylvania is the North American business of Osram GmbH. According to court documents, the company sold over 60 million of the replacement headlamps during the class period.

The lawsuit was filed by Imran Chaudhri in September 2011, alleging that Sylvania represented that the headlights are brighter, provide a wider beam and allow drivers to see farther down the road than standard halogen headlights. However, the lawsuit alleges, Sylvania had "rigged the process" and committed consumer fraud.

Specifically, the lawsuit claims Sylvania failed to adequately disclose to consumers that those comparisons aren't based on similar testing conditions. SilverStar headlamps generally sell for roughly double that of halogen headlights.

According to the terms of the deal, eligible class members will be entitled to their pro rata share of the settlement fund with each class member expected to recover around $10. Sylvania also agreed in the deal to alter the headlights' packaging to eliminate some of the challenged claims concerning the products' performance and lifespan. Chaudhri and the six other plaintiffs who later joined the case will share an incentive award of up to $25,000.

A fairness hearing will be held on March 25, 2015. The case is Chaudhri v. Osram Sylvania Inc. et al., number 2:11-cv-05504, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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Published on Jul-14-14


READER COMMENTS

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I purchased them for my 2006 Honda Accord and it doesn't look like the headlights are on. Everyone that gets in the car when I am driving at night tells me to turn my head lights on, and I say they are on. They say are you sure, so I turn them off. If you are somewhere, that there is no street light, you really need to use you high beams. The lights are bad on the Accord, I purchase those because of their claim of being so much brighter, and they are not, but they were expensive.

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