3 Major Settlement Deadlines Are Coming Up Soon (Including One Worth Up To $6,500)

Consumers involved in class action lawsuits can often receive a payment with very little effort. For instance, if you're one of the people who qualifies for Capital One's $425 million class action lawsuit, your settlement could make up for the fact the company was less than forthcoming about its interest rates. Similarly, with three major settlement deadlines for large companies approaching fast — Whole Foods, Panera, and Poppi — it could be worth investigating your eligibility to be included as a defendant. These three suits alone could be worth a combined $6,160 in payments, with Panera in particular on the hook for potentially up to $6,500.

Although huge class action litigation can seriously cripple a small business, for major corporations, it can be the more affordable option. According to Norton Rose Fulbright's annual litigation trend study, 48% of corporate lawyers expect higher incidents of litigation in 2025, with 92% of them preferring to settle their suits before they make it to court. As such, companies with over $1 billion in revenue have upped their war chest — specifically to address class action suits — by as much as $4.3 million as of 2024, up from $3.9 million in 2023.

Whole Foods could be on the hook for paying customers, thanks to a class action suit going back to November 2017 — after Whole Foods launched their 365 Organic and 365 Everyday Value Organic Hot Cocoa product. As $650,000 settlement was reached in July 2025, and is offering 156,662 settlement class members $2.90 per claim. If you've already been contacted by email, you're already included in the suit and there's nothing more to do. Otherwise, you will need to fill out and submit a claim form to receive your payment. Only two claims are allowed per household if you lack proof of purchase, or three or more with proof of purchase — and claims are due by October 14, 2025.

Even though this particular lawsuit is food related, per the Goodwin Hot Cocoa Settlement, it actually has nothing to do with the quality of the food. Instead it has everything to do with how the product was packaged. Thanks to a packaging error, shoppers at one California Whole Foods believed they were purchasing more cocoa powder than what was actually found in each product canister. Under California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law, the suit alleged Whole Foods misrepresented how much product was in each canister based on packaging size. This is just one more thing to worry about in addition to the many tricks that grocery stores might use to get you to spend more money.

Much like with Whole Foods, prebiotic beverage producer Poppi went afoul of advertising standards. The company claimed that its soft drinks promote good gut health. However, the beverages in question contain too little in the way of prebiotics to actually claim any positive effects on gut health. Poppi is also accused of having too much sugar in order to be considered healthy. Launched in May 2024 by a single consumer in California, the complaint spun into an $8.9 million dollar class action lawsuit. 

If you purchased Poppi's prebiotic drink between January 23, 2020 and July 18, 2025, you' are eligible to join the class action suit. Without proof of purchase however, it may not be worth all that much to you with a maximum payout of $16, but it's still something. Otherwise, you can claim up to 75 cents per can of Poppi — three dollars for a four-pack, six dollars for an eight pack, or up to nine dollars per every 12 or 15 pack of the product you purchased. The deadline to submit a claim form for this suit is September 26, 2025.

Panera found itself in a $2.5 million class action lawsuit after suffering a data breach in February 2024, which exposed the personal and financial information of past and present employees, including some contractors. Aside from making a mess of Panera's digital services for three days, the breach also leaked the full government names and social security numbers of these employees and contractors. However, the company failed to notify them the affected individual for weeks or even months after the incident occurred. An estimated 147,000 people are eligible claimants.

Initially launched as multiple cases in June 2024, these cases were consolidated as a class action lawsuit in October 2024. As per NRN, customers were also affected and could be eligible for as much as $6,500 if they lost money due to identity theft from the incident — part of the terrifying amount of money that Americans lost to fraud last year. In fact, according to Norton Rose Fulbright, data protection, privacy, and cybersecurity in general were the leading causes of litigation for companies in 2024, and the same is expected for 2025. Luckily, the German company that secretly owns Panera can afford it. Other litigants could receive up to $500 for incidentals related to the incident, like a credit monitoring report or other out-of-pocket expenses. Meanwhile, some members of the suit could receive $250, with residents of California receiving an additional $100. The deadline to submit a claim is November 11, 2025.