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Plaintiff Nicholas Cahill filed a lawsuit against Defendant Nestle USA, Inc., individually and on behalf of anyone who purchased certain of Nestle USA, Inc.’s manufactured powder coffee creamer Products, including certain Coffee mate® branded Products, for personal use between January 1, 2017, and December 8, 2022.
The Plaintiff alleges in the lawsuit that (i) the Label on certain Coffee mate® powder coffee creamer Products manufactured by Nestle USA, Inc. states that the Products are capable of making a specified number of servings and (ii) the Products do not always yield the represented number of servings when consumers follow the “Serving Size” instructions on the Label. Accordingly, the Plaintiff alleges that the Products were inaccurately Labeled.
Defendant Nestle USA, Inc. denies the Plaintiff’s allegations and denies that it violated any law or caused any harm as alleged in the lawsuit. Nestle USA, Inc. asserts that its Labeling and marketing is truthful and entirely accurate, and its Products yield the number of servings of powder coffee creamer represented on the Label, but Nestle USA, Inc. has settled this case to avoid further litigation and distraction of resources from its business.
To obtain more information about this case and Settlement, please see FAQ 19 below.
The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiff or Defendant. Instead, both sides agreed to settle this case to avoid the costs, disruption, and risk of further litigation.
The Plaintiff, Class Representatives, Defendant, and their attorneys believe the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and is therefore in the best interest of the Settlement Class Members.
Full details about the proposed Settlement can be found in the Settlement Agreement.
In a class action, one or more people called “Class Representatives” (in this case, Nicholas Cahill and Julia Yonan) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of these people who may have similar claims form a “Class” and are called “Class Members.” The Settlement resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except those who exclude themselves from the Class (Opt-Out), as explained in FAQ 10.
You are included in the Settlement as a Settlement Class Member if you live and purchased in the United States any of the specified Coffee mate powder creamer Products (for personal use only) from January 1, 2017, through December 8, 2022.
If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Class Member, or have any other questions about the Settlement, visit the Contact section of this website or mail your questions to Nicholas Cahill v. Nestle USA, Inc., c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 225391 New York, NY 10150-5391 or call 833-709-0667.
If the proposed Settlement is finally approved by the Court, and after any appeals are resolved, Defendant has agreed to:
1. Business Practices: Make changes to the Label on certain Products.
2. Individual Claims: Class Members are eligible for payments with, or without, Proof of Purchase:
⦁ Tier 1 – Claims without Proof of Purchase:
You can get up to $0.50 per Unit purchased, up to a maximum of $5.00 per Household;
or
⦁ Tier 2 – Claims with Proof of Purchase:
You can get up to 30% price paid per Unit purchased for which a valid Proof of Purchase has been provided, up to a maximum of $40.00 per Household.
A Settlement Class Member may only make a single Claim under either Tier 1 or tier 2 (but not both), per Household.
The deadline to make a Valid Claim is 11:59 p.m. Central Time on March 14, 2023. To submit a Claim Form, please click here
You must submit a Claim Form, with or without Proof of Purchase, to be eligible to receive any money from the Settlement, if it is approved by the Court. You may complete the Claim Form online or download a Claim Form here. You may also email or call the Settlement Administrator at [email protected] or 833-709-0667 to request a Claim Form. Your Claim Form must be signed under penalty of perjury and postmarked or submitted online no later than 11:59 p.m. Central Time on March 14, 2023.
Unless you exclude yourself (Opt-Out), you will be included in the Settlement if it is approved by the Court. By staying in the Class, you will be eligible to receive monetary benefits provided by the Settlement, to which you may be entitled, and you will release the Defendant from all of the settled claims in this lawsuit.
This means that you will no longer be able to sue Nestle USA, Inc. regarding any of the settled claims if you are a Settlement Class Member and do not timely and properly Exclude yourself (Opt-Out) from the Class.
The settled claims are any known or unknown Claims that any Settlement Class Member may at any time have up to December 8, 2022, arising out of the subject matter giving rise to the Claims in the lawsuit. In addition, Settlement Class Members expressly waive and relinquish the provisions of California Civil Code § 1542 (and all other similar provisions of law) to the full extent that these provisions may be applicable to this release. California Civil Code § 1542 provides:
A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE AND THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.
The full text of the Settlement Agreement, which includes all the provisions about settled claims and Releases, is available here.
Possibly. The Class Representatives (Nicholas Cahill and Julia Yonan) will request a Service Award of up to a maximum total amount of $7,000 in the aggregate, which shall be apportioned equally among the Class Representatives (up to an amount of $3,500 per Class Representative), to compensate them for their services as Class Representatives and their efforts in bringing the lawsuit. The Court will make the final decision as to the amount, if any, to be paid to each of the Class Representatives.
If you do not want to be part of the Settlement, you must send a written request for exclusion (to Opt-Out). The request to exclude yourself from the Settlement must be made on an individual basis, and received by the Settlement Administrator at the below address on or before 11:59 p.m. CT on February 27, 2023:
Cahill v. Nestle USA, Inc.
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC
PO Box 225391
New York, NY 10150-5391
The Opt-Out request must contain the requestor’s name, address, the words “I wish to be excluded from the “Nicholas Cahill v. Nestle USA, Inc. Class Action,” and signature.
No, not if you are a Settlement Class Member. If you do not exclude yourself (Opt-Out) from the Settlement and the Settlement is finally approved by the Court, you forever give up the right to sue Nestle USA, Inc. and the Released Parties for all the claims that this Settlement resolves.
If you submit a valid and timely request to be excluded (Opt-Out), you cannot Object to the proposed Settlement. However, if you ask to be excluded, you may sue or continue to sue Nestle USA, Inc. or the Released Parties about the same claims resolved by this Settlement in the future. You will not be bound by anything that happens in this lawsuit.
If you are a Settlement Class Member, do nothing and the Settlement is finally approved by the Court, you will not get any money from the Settlement and you forever give up the right to sue Nestle USA, Inc. and the Released Parties for the claims this Settlement resolves.
Yes. The Court has ordered that the Law Office of L. DeWayne Layfield, PLLC; KamberLaw LLC; Steelman Gaunt Crowley; and Southern Atlantic Law Group, PLLC (together, “Class Counsel”) will represent the interests of all Class Members. Class Members will not be separately charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can Object only if you stay in the Class.
Excluding yourself (Opting Out) is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to Object because the Settlement no longer affects you.
A Court has preliminarily approved the Settlement and will hold a Final Approval Hearing to determine whether to give final approval to the Settlement. The purpose of the Final Approval Hearing is for the Court to determine whether the Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Class, and to consider the award of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs to Class Counsel and to consider the request for Service Awards to the Class Representatives. If there are any valid, timely Objections, the Court will consider them and listen to the people who have asked to speak at the hearing, if a request to do so was properly made, the Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on March 9, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time in the Circuit Court of Phelps County, Missouri. The hearing may be postponed to a different time, date, or location without additional notice, so it is recommended that you periodically check this website for updated information.
Yes, you may speak at the Final Approval Hearing, but you must ask the Court for permission. To request permission to speak, you must have filed an Objection according to the instructions in Question 15, including all of the information required.
You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself (Opt-Out) from the Settlement.
This is only a summary of the proposed Settlement. If you want additional information about this lawsuit, including a copy of the actual Settlement Agreement, the complaint filed in this lawsuit, the Court’s Preliminary Approval Order, Class Counsel’s Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, other pertinent information, and to check the status of the Settlement or if the Settlement has been approved by the Court, please visit the Documents section of this website.
You may also contact the Settlement Administrator at 833-709-0667. To see papers filed with the Court and a history of this lawsuit, you may also visit or call the Clerk’s office at the Phelps County Circuit Court, 200 North Main Street, Rolla, MO 65401; (573) 458-6200. The Clerk will tell you how to obtain the complete file for inspection and copying at your own expense.
PLEASE DO NOT ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT OR LITIGATION TO THE CLERK OF THE COURT OR THE JUDGE.
