VIZIO has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the company had been misleading its customers, marketing some of its televisions with a Hz rating that is twice as high as its actual refresh rate (e.g., 120 Hz instead of 60 Hz, and 240 Hz instead of 120 Hz).
Here are some of the key points of the settlement, the payment awards of which may be applicable to those who bought a new VIZIO television in California after April 30, 2014:
- The Settlement resolves a lawsuit alleging that VIZIO’s advertisement of its Televisions as having a “120Hz Effective Refresh Rate” or “240Hz Effective Refresh Rate” was false and misleading. VIZIO denies all of Plaintiff’s allegations and contends that it properly labeled each television with the correct “Hz” specification.
- The Settlement defines the Settlement Class as all individuals who purchased a VIZIO television in California in the Class Period that was advertised as having a “120Hz Effective Refresh Rate” or “240Hz Effective Refresh Rate.” The Class Period extends from April 30, 2014, through the date that the Court enters final judgment following the final approval hearing currently scheduled for June 20, 2024.
- The two sides disagree on whether Plaintiff and the Settlement Class could have prevailed at trial. By entering into the Settlement, VIZIO has not conceded the truth or validity of any of the claims against it.
- To resolve the lawsuit, Plaintiff and VIZIO, Inc. (“VIZIO”) have agreed to the following relief for the Settlement Class. VIZIO has agreed to (i) stop the advertising practices; (ii) provide enhanced services and a limited one-year warranty to all Settlement Class Members; and (iii) pay $3,000,000 (“Settlement Awards”) in full and complete settlement and release of all claims.
- An attorneys’ fee award to be determined by the Court, notice and administration costs, and any incentive award to the Class Representatives to be determined by the Court will be paid separately and apart from the Settlement Awards.
- The Settlement Awards will be paid at up to $50 per valid Claim and subject to pro rata decrease, depending on the number of all approved Claims submitted.
“VIZIO’s marketing the technical specifications of televisions with 60Hz display panels as having a ‘120Hz Effective Refresh Rate’ is misleading and untrue,” reads a portion of the original complaint, dated April 30, 2018. “VIZIO’s televisions with 60Hz display panels, in fact, have an effective refresh rate of only 60Hz because they can only display 60 images per second, not 120 images per second. Backlight manipulation methods cannot and do not increase the effective Hz (refresh rate) of the television.”
“VIZIO knows, or at the very least should know, that its televisions with 60Hz display panels have a refresh rate of 60 images per second and that backlight manipulation methods cannot and do not increase the effective Hz (refresh rate) of a television,” reads another portion of the filing.
Affected users have until March 30, 2024 to submit a claim form to receive their payment, although they will give up certain rights to sue VIZIO on their own if they do so, according to refreshrateclassaction.com.