Artsana Booster Seat Settlement: Allegations, Delays, and Payouts

The Artsana booster seat settlement resolved a class action accusing Artsana USA, Inc. of falsely advertising the safety of its Chicco KidFit booster seats, and it received final approval from Judge Vincent L. Briccetti on April 17, 2025. Class members who bought an eligible Chicco KidFit model between April 22, 2015 and December 31, 2021 could claim $50 per seat with proof of purchase or $25 per seat without it. The claims deadline was 60 days after final approval, and it has passed.

Who Qualified and How Much They Received

The class covered anyone in the United States who bought one of six Chicco KidFit booster seat models during the class period: the KidFit, KidFit Zip, KidFit Zip Air, KidFit Luxe, KidFit Plus, and KidFit Air Plus.¹

Payments depended on documentation. Claimants who had a receipt, credit card statement, product packaging, or evidence of registration with Artsana or the NHTSA received $50 per seat. Claimants without proof of purchase received $25 per seat if they could satisfy at least two verification requirements, such as identifying the serial number, the model and seat colors, the retailer and approximate purchase date, or the store location together with a photo of the product.²

Artsana paid benefits directly rather than funding a fixed pool, and the company also covered all notice and administration costs. Claims could be filed online at ArtsanaBoosterSeatSettlement.com or by mail, with Angeion Group serving as administrator.²

What the Lawsuit Alleged

Plaintiff Amanda Jimenez filed the case on September 23, 2021 in the Southern District of New York, captioned Jimenez v. Artsana USA, Inc., Case No. 7:21-cv-07933.³

The complaint made two core allegations. It claimed Artsana marketed KidFit booster seats as safe for children weighing as little as 30 pounds, despite longstanding expert consensus that booster seats are unsafe for children under 40 pounds. It also alleged the company’s proprietary “DuoGuard” side-impact feature was advertised as providing meaningful crash protection without evidence to support that claim, and that internal testing purportedly showed the feature failed to prevent a child’s head from moving beyond the headrest in a side impact.⁴ The legal claims included breach of express and implied warranty, unjust enrichment, fraud, and violations of New York consumer protection laws.³

Why the Payments Were Delayed

Preliminary approval came on January 23, 2023, and the claims process opened. It quickly overwhelmed the administrator. Artsana had sold fewer than 875,000 booster seats during the entire class period. By October 2023, the settlement had received over 3.3 million claims, and the number eventually reached roughly 9.6 million.⁵

Artsana’s attorneys told the court that criminals had targeted the claims process using sophisticated methods to generate large numbers of fraudulent submissions, and the company urged the court to block the settlement. Judge Briccetti put the settlement on hold and directed the parties to sort out the fraud before returning. As of May 2024, no claims had been paid.⁵

Of the nearly 9 million claims filed, roughly 8.9 million were ultimately determined to be fraudulent, according to Angeion Group and its fraud-detection partner ClaimScore.⁶

Final Approval, Attorneys’ Fees, and Incentive Awards

In February 2025, class counsel resubmitted the settlement with verified, legitimate claims totaling approximately $2.39 million, representing about 7.45 percent of the class.⁷ The final approval hearing took place on April 8, 2025.

On April 17, 2025, Judge Briccetti granted final approval, finding the settlement “fair, reasonable, and adequate and in the best interests of the Settlement Class Members.” The court awarded class counsel $2,250,000 in attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, and approved incentive awards of $1,500 each for the six class representatives, including named plaintiff Amanda Jimenez. All claims were dismissed with prejudice.⁸

The fee award drew scrutiny. At $2.25 million, attorneys’ fees came to nearly 95 percent of the approximately $2.39 million in legitimate class member claims, a ratio Artsana objected to during the approval process.⁷ The court approved the amount as the “sole compensation” owed to plaintiffs’ counsel under the settlement agreement.²

When and How Payments Are Issued

Under the settlement agreement, payments to approved class members go out no later than 30 days after the “Effective Date,” which is defined as three business days after the final judgment becomes final, meaning the time to appeal has expired or any appeals have been resolved.⁹

Payments in class actions like this one are typically disbursed from a Qualified Settlement Fund, or QSF. A QSF is a special-purpose account governed by Section 468B of the Internal Revenue Code that holds the money after the defendant pays in and before checks go out to claimants.¹⁰ Checks from this case will bear the name “Artsana Booster Seat Settlement QSF.” That labeling is a routine feature of class action administration, not a sign of anything unusual about the payment.

1
ClassAction.org. Everything You Need to Know About the Chicco KidFit Booster Seat Settlement
2
Angeion Group. Artsana Booster Seat Settlement Long Form Notice
3
ClassAction.org. Jimenez v. Artsana USA, Inc. Complaint
4
ClassAction.org. Class Action Claims Artsana’s Chicco KidFit Booster Seats Not as Safe as Advertised
5
Carrier Management. Class Action Settlement Fraud Reaches Unprecedented Level
6
PR Newswire. Angeion Group Announces Strategic Partnership With ClaimScore
7
New York Law Journal. After Fraud Steered Chicco Class Settlement Off Course, Lawyers Are Back in Court
8
Justia. Jimenez v. Artsana USA, Inc., Order Granting Final Approval
9
Truth in Advertising. Jimenez v. Artsana Settlement Agreement
10
AM Best. Single Claimant Qualified Settlement Funds – Structured Settlements: A Reality Check