Wednesday, August 12, 2026
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Judge Lu Approves $7.4 Million Settlement of Class Action Against Trader Joe’s Company
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has approved a $7.4 million settlement of a class action against Trader Joe’s Company based on the Monrovia-based national grocery store chain having violated the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act by revealing 10 digits of customers’ debit and credit card numbers on receipts, with up to $2,466,666.67 of the proceeds bring split among three law firms.
“The fee request represents 33% of the gross settlement amount which is within the average generally awarded in class actions,” Judge Elaine Lu said in her order.
Counsel estimated having devoted 2,043.2 hours to the matter. The lodestar amount was $1,706,137.80, and Lu allowed a multiplier of 1.45.
She granted $50,085.29 in attorney costs.
Filed in Florida
The lawsuit was initially filed by Brian Keim on July 17, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. but the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the plaintiffs lacked Art. III standing and the action was re-filed in Los Angeles where Trader Joe’s is headquartered.
The class was comprised of “account holders whose credit or debit card was used in a transaction at a Trader Joe’s store for which the payment processing software caused a customer receipt to be formatted to display the first six and last four digits of the card number used in the transaction between March 5, 2019 and July 19, 2019.” The federal statute prohibits printing more than five digits.
An estimated 757,663 persons comprised the class; 108,750 claims were received.
Overwhelming Approval
Lu remarked:
“Only four class member objections were filed, and none challenges the adequacy of the Settlement itself. The Court notes that out of a large class, the number of objections is miniscule, reflecting the class’s overwhelmingly positive response.”
She declared:
“The Court finds that the notice was given as directed and conforms to due process requirements. Given the reactions of the Class Members to the proposed settlement and for the reasons set for in the Preliminary Approval order, the settlement is found to be fair, adequate, and reasonable.”
One term of the proposed settlement was that the resolution would block other suits from being filed based on the same conduct. Lu struck two paragraphs, saying:
“The Court cannot make a finding that the terms of a settlement are res judicata or collateral estoppel.”
The case is Keim v. Trader Joe’s Company, 19STCV36790.
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