Vibram USA, the producer of FiveFingers running shoes, has moved to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that it overstated the shoes' health benefits. The company has offered to pay a total of $3.75 million to people who bought the shoes and said it would stop making claims in its commercials that the shoes strengthen muscles and prevent injury. Vibram USA filed the settlement proposal with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, where the class-action plaintiffs had filed the suit, and is awaiting approval from the court. If approved, customers who bought the shoes as far back as March 2009 for about $100 could be eligible for a refund of as much as $94 for every pair they purchased, according to the court filing. More than two dozen models of Vibram shoes would qualify. Vibram USA's chief executive, Mike Gionfriddo, said that the company continues to deny the allegations in the suit but proposed the settlement to avoid the costs of prolonged litigation.
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