Pearlstone v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Walmart and Sam’s Club customers were entitled to a payment from a class action settlement if they returned a purchase and didn’t get a full refund.

This website provides important information about a settlement in a class action lawsuit against Walmart. The lawsuit claims that Walmart violated the law by incorrectly calculating and refunding the sales taxes it owed to customers who returned items purchased in store or online from Walmart or Sam’s Club after July 17, 2015. Although the court presiding over the case has not decided who is right or wrong, the parties have reached a compromise to end the lawsuit and provide compensation to those who may have been affected.

The Court has granted Final Approval of the settlement. Payments are in the process of being sent to members of the Settlement Class who filed timely and valid claims on July 19 and July 21, 2021.

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Who’s In The Settlement?

The Settlement Class: All those individuals who, during the period July 17, 2015, through November 25, 2020, returned an item purchased from a Walmart store, Sam’s Club store, or online from Walmart.com or Samsclub.com for pickup or delivery within the United States, and to whom Walmart or Sam’s Club gave a refund or credit, but the amount of sales tax refunded or credited was less than the full amount of sales tax paid at the time the item was purchased.

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Please read through this website carefully. It summarizes the rights and options under the Settlement. You can access and read the full Settlement Agreement here.

Your Legal Rights and Options in This Settlement

Submit a Claim Form	Under the settlement, all Settlement Class Members who timely submitted a valid claim were eligible to receive an equal share of a $5,000,000 settlement fund after deductions for attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, and administrative costs associated with the Settlement. To receive a payment, you must have submitted a claim by April 1, 2021.
Exclude Yourself	You had the option to exclude yourself from the settlement. With this option, you will not receive a payment, but you will not give up your right to assert your own claims against Walmart if you want to do so. Your request to exclude yourself must have been submitted by mail no later than April 1, 2021. If the Settlement is approved and you did not exclude yourself, you are bound by the Settlement and will release certain claims as described below.
Object	The deadline for objecting to the Settlement was April 1, 2021.
Do Nothing	If you do nothing, you will remain a member of the Settlement Class and will not receive any payment and will still be bound by the release of claims against Walmart.

NOTE: This is just a summary. The Settlement Class members’ rights and options under the Settlement, and the deadlines to exercise them, are explained further in the Frequently Asked Questions page of this website.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE COURT, THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE, WALMART, OR WALMART’S ATTORNEYS. THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ASSIST YOU.