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FitFlops Flop: Class Action Filed Over Flip Flops Gym

April 10th, 2013. By AbiK

Seriously. If a pair of flip flops has a “gym built in”, can a Jimmy Choo’s diet be far behind? (No, actually—as a quick glance at Jimmy Choo advertising makes it clear they know what business they’re in, and what a pair of stilettos can and cannot do.)

Rhetorical questions aside, first there was the Reebok Toning Shoes class action lawsuit. That one settled for $25M. Then there was Skechers Shape-Ups. That one settled for $45M. And THEN there was New Balance Toning Shoes, which settled for $2.3M.

They say three’s a charm, and I’m sure the lawyers representing FitFlop customer, Barbara Glaberson, 70, of Ventnor, NJ, are well aware that they’ve got footwear trends (at least legally speaking) on their side with three toning shoe defendants having to settle for millions.

According to an article at Philly.com, Glaberson purchased a pair of bronze Walkstar FitFlops sandals for $60 at Nordstrom’s in the spring of 2010. And guess what? After wearing the sandals, she found they didn’t make her fit.

Well, according to one of Glaberson’s lawyers, Timothy G. Blood, a partner in Blood, Hurst & O’Reardon L.L.P. in California, Glaberson “…thought it would be great to get more out of just walking around. They did nothing for her, and she felt like she had been ripped off.”

Gullible though she may have been, when you consider that FitFlops were advertised as “the flip flop with the gym built in” and that they retail at a higher price point, surely they sound like they must do more for you than your average pair of Havaianas, coming in at around $20 retail—and certainly more than the “2 for $5” Old Navy flip flops. Right? Granted, Havaianas and Old Navy flip flops make a better fashion statement, but fashion be damned where there’s calf toning to be had for $60.

So, fast-forward, Glaberson has filed a class action lawsuit, v. FitFlop USA L.L.C., claiming that the FitFlops Walkstar sandals did not, apparently, come with a gym built-in. Nor, I’m guessing, any Nautilus equipment. Nor a treadmill. And they didn’t make her more fit. (On the flip side—no pun—it’s important to note that Glaberson is not claiming physical injury, which had been an aspect of some of the other toning shoe lawsuits that preceded this; she is merely alleging consumer fraud.)

We’ll have to see where this one nets out, but it’s one to watch. As Philly.com points out, both sides have legal representation with some serious klout. On Glaberson’s side, there’s Blood and his partners who have worked with the FTC on the Reebok EasyTone Settlement for $25M. On FitFlops side, there’s William S. Ohlemeyer, a partner with Boies, Schiller & Flexner L.L.P.—the firm that represented Al Gore in the post-election debacle over the outcome of the 2000 presidential race. Stay tuned…

Tags: Class Action, Consumer Fraud, false advertising, FitFlops Lawsuit, New Balance, Reebok, Skechers, Toning Sneakers
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 4 Comments »