Blue Rhino Propane Tank Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

Blue Rhino Propane Tank Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

Did you buy a Blue Rhino Propane Tank? You Maybe in-tiled to receive a check for $7.50 

Class Members who have proof of purchase can receive $7.50 for each Blue Rhino propane tank they purchased or exchanged during the class period, up to a maximum refund of $150. Class Members without proof of purchase will receive a one-time payment of $7.50. This amount may be reduced, depending on how many people file valid claims.
 
To receive your share of the Blue Rhino propane class action settlement, you must submit a valid claim form no later than May 23, 2012. 

WHAT IS THE LAWSUIT ABOUT?

The Lawsuit claims that Blue Rhino, together with certain competitors, reduced the amount of propane gas in the pre-filled cylinders it sold to its customers without the reduced volume being visible from an examination of the propane container and/or failed to fill propane cylinders to proper levels and misrepresented or failed to disclose the actual net weight and level of propane in the cylinders to its customers. The Lawsuit seeks to recover the money that Plaintiffs allege Blue Rhino customers may have been overcharged due to Blue Rhino’s conduct.

A class action lawsuit called In re Pre-Filled Propane Tank Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 2086, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. The lawsuit claims that Blue Rhino, together with certain competitors, reduced the amount of propane gas in the cylinders it sold to its customers without disclosing the reduced fill to its customers and by misrepresenting or failing to disclose the actual fill of the cylinders to its customers. The lawsuit seeks to recover the money that Plaintiffs allege customers were overcharged due to Blue Rhino’s conduct. Blue Rhino denies any wrongdoing and, if the Settlement is not approved by the Court, will argue, among other things, that the case should not be a class action. The Court has not decided that Defendants did anything wrong.

Named Plaintiffs settled with Blue Rhino on behalf of all Blue Rhino tank exchange customers. Blue Rhino has made a commitment regarding its sales and marketing practices, and agreed to pay Class Members who make valid and timely claims according to a formula described in the Settlement Agreement. You are a Class Member if you purchased or exchanged one or more pre-filled Blue Rhino propane gas cylinders in the U.S. between June 15, 2005 and October 11, 2011 and did not resell the cylinder.

What Are My Options?

• To participate in the proposed Settlement Fund, you must submit a timely, completed and sworn Claim Form to the Claims Administrator, postmarked or sent by email NO LATER THAN May 23, 2012. If you stayed in the Class, you may have objected or commented on the Settlement.
• To be excluded from the Proposed Settlement, you must have submitted a written request for exclusion to the Claims Administrator postmarked NO LATER THAN January 9, 2012. Further details can be obtained from the full Notice or FAQ #13.
• To object, you must have filed your objection NO LATER THAN January 10, 2012 with the Court and served on Counsel your intention to do so. Further details can be obtained from the full Notice or FAQ #12.
• If you do nothing, you will be considered a participant in the Proposed Settlement but you will not receive money, be bound by the terms of the Settlement and lose your right to sue regarding the settled claims.

Who Represents You?

The Court appointed the law firms Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, Girard Gibbs LLP, and Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP to represent you as “Class Counsel.” You don’t have to pay Class Counsel or anyone else to participate.

Fairness Hearing

The Court has scheduled a Settlement Hearing to consider the Proposed Settlement on February 24, 2012, 9:00 a.m. at the U.S. District Court, Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse, 400 East 9th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. The Court will determine whether the Proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate and whether the Proposed Class should be certified. Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees, and other costs, as well as service awards for the Class Representatives, which will be paid by Blue Rhino or out of the Settlement Fund as detailed in the Settlement Agreement. The motion(s) by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and costs and incentive awards for the Class Representatives are available in the Court Documents section of this website. You may have asked to appear at the hearing, but you don’t have to. If you wished to appear you must have filed a notice of intention to appear at the Settlement Hearing.