The Vanguards Group lawsuit is still fresh in everyone’s mind, but not everybody is involved with the legal battle that transpired. There were approximately two hundred plaintiffs and defendants who had their lawsuit brought against the Atkins diet and the company that manufactured it. If you are not involved in one of these lawsuits, it may be time to look into them and what is happening within this legal precedent.
Vanguards Group Lawsuit
The crux of the case revolves around a man named Martin Atkins. He was a leading proponent of the Atkins diet as one of the best ways to lose weight quickly and easily. In a nutshell, he was the go to guy for people who needed to lose weight in an effort to get in shape and be more active. It is his testimony at a deposition that he testified that the Atkins diet is safe and that it has the ability to provide for quick weight loss. After his testimony, the Atkins diet became controversial, and many people questioned his methodology.
One of the attorneys involved with the Vanguards Group lawsuit, Johnell Smith, later changed his tune after the case was settled.
He maintained that Atkins was a key player in changing the landscape of the law suit and that the settlement should have been viewed as such. Atkins later stated that he was not involved in the lawsuit beyond providing legal counsel to one of the attorneys handling the case. He maintained that he did not cause the problem that led to the lawsuit.
The Atkins settlement was later sold to an investor for a hefty sum.
Atkins passed away in 2021, without having any further comment on the sale of the settlement. Some believe that the payout was too large for the company and that they could not handle the financial issues that were associated with the sale.
The Vanguards Group lawsuit itself was a classic case that highlighted the issues with some diet programs.
While it did deal with an extremely large case, there were other similar situations that were settled without any court battle. For instance, there was an out of court settlement over whether or not the company that manufactured the pill had fiduciary responsibilities. The judge found that they did.
Vanguards is no longer in business, having merged with another dietary supplement company.
Atkins himself is no longer with the company. However, the settlement of this case did bring about major changes to the landscape of personal injury cases. This type of settlement will certainly be worth watching, particularly if the compensation offers become more commonplace. There have been several out of court settlement deals in recent years that have been widely reported upon in the press.