If you have ever bought a sandwich from Subway using your credit or debit card, you may be entitled to a share of a $30.9 million settlement that the company agreed to pay in a class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, Flaum v. Doctor’s Associates, Inc., was filed in 2016 by Shane Flaum, a customer who claimed that Subway violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) by printing the full expiration date and last four digits of his debit card number on his receipt. FACTA is a federal law that prohibits businesses from printing more than five digits of a card number or the expiration date on receipts to protect consumers from identity theft and fraud.
Flaum alleged that Subway willfully violated FACTA and exposed millions of customers to potential harm. He sought statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per violation, which could amount to billions of dollars in total liability for Subway.
Subway denied any wrongdoing and argued that Flaum and other customers did not suffer any actual harm or injury from the receipt printing practice. The company also claimed that it had taken steps to comply with FACTA and that any violations were inadvertent or isolated.
After several months of litigation and mediation, the parties reached a settlement agreement in March 2017. Under the terms of the settlement, Subway agreed to pay $30.9 million into a fund that would be distributed pro rata among a potential class of over 2.6 million customers who received non-compliant receipts from Subway between January 1, 2016 and March 23, 2017. The settlement also provided for attorneys’ fees of up to $10.3 million and an incentive award of $10,000 for Flaum.
The settlement was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in August 2017. The court found that the settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate and that it served the best interests of the class members and the public. The court also noted that the settlement amount was “the largest FACTA settlement in history” and that it represented “a significant recovery for the class” given the risks and uncertainties of continued litigation.
The settlement administrator mailed checks to eligible class members in December 2017. The amount of each check varied depending on the number of valid claims submitted, but the average payment was about $11 per claimant.
If you received a check from the Subway FACTA settlement, you should cash it as soon as possible. The checks will expire after 90 days from the date of issuance.