Dollar General Class Action Lawsuit: Settlement and Eligibility

The Dollar General class action lawsuit settlement is a $15 million agreement resolving claims that the retailer charged customers more at the register than the price shown on the shelf. The case, Braun v. Dolgencorp, LLC, was filed in New Jersey Superior Court and covers shoppers nationwide who were overcharged between October 10, 2016, and November 19, 2025. The claim filing deadline was April 13, 2026, and has passed. Payments have not yet gone out: they cannot begin until the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved.¹

What the Lawsuit Alleged

The complaint accused Dollar General of a systemic practice of marking one price on the shelf and ringing up a higher price at checkout. Plaintiffs argued that because the company controlled both its shelf-labeling and its register pricing, the mismatches reflected company practice rather than random error.

The claims were backed by government price-accuracy inspections and by shopper documentation. Audits by New York state agencies found overcharge rates as high as 78% at specific stores, far above the National Institute for Standards and Technology recommendation that retailers hit at least 98% accuracy. Named plaintiff Lori Hartline documented her own trips to a Dollar General in Porum, Oklahoma, between May and August 2023 and found that nine of 27 items she bought were overcharged, with amounts ranging from 15 cents on a Bud Light Chelada to $2.90 on a pair of Dr. Pepper 12-packs. A December 2025 investigation found that Dollar General stores had failed more than 4,300 government price-accuracy inspections across 23 states since January 2022.²

The consolidated case was brought under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the New Jersey Truth-in-Consumer Contract Warranty and Notice Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act.¹ Dollar General denied wrongdoing and said it settled “to avoid further burdensome and costly litigation.”²

What the Settlement Pays

The $15 million is split into an $8.5 million common fund for cash payments to class members and a $6.5 million injunctive relief fund that pays for operational changes at the company.¹

Cash Payments With Documentation

Class members who could document an overcharge were eligible for $10 per item or the full overcharge amount, whichever was higher. Acceptable proof included a dated photo of a shelf price alongside a matching receipt, or proof of a complaint already submitted to Dollar General or a government agency about an unresolved overcharge.³ Each household was limited to two claims, capping the cash payout at $20 or the total actual overcharge, whichever was larger.⁴

In-Store Discount Without Documentation

Class members without documentation could register for an in-store benefit instead: $3 off the first $10 of any purchase of at least $10, before tax, with no proof of purchase required. The benefit ran through a Dollar General rewards account, and the in-store redemption window was set for June 1–2, 2026.⁵³

Who Was Eligible

The settlement class covers all U.S. consumers who paid more at a Dollar General register than the shelf label advertised between October 10, 2016, and November 19, 2025.⁵

Shoppers whom Dollar General or a government agency had already identified as complainants received a personalized notice ID and confirmation code by email starting the week of January 22, 2026.⁶ Everyone else could file through a separate form on DGPriceSettlement.com.⁷ Claims could also be mailed to the settlement administrator, Angeion Group, at 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.⁸

The deadline to file was April 13, 2026. The deadline to opt out or object was March 2, 2026. Both have passed, and new claims can no longer be submitted.⁵

When Payments Will Go Out

The court granted preliminary approval on December 15, 2025, and scheduled a final fairness hearing for March 19, 2026, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Middlesex County (Case No. MID-L-00950-25). Under the settlement, no payments can be issued until final approval is granted and any appeals are resolved.¹

As of mid-2026, the settlement status was listed as “in progress,” and no date for check mailings had been announced. Any leftover money from the fund goes to a national food bank organization rather than reverting to Dollar General.² Claimants can reach the settlement administrator at 844-262-4248 or info@DGPriceSettlement.com for status updates.⁹

What Dollar General Agreed to Change

Beyond the cash and discount relief, the $6.5 million injunctive fund pays for reforms Dollar General agreed to make. The company committed to implementing all price changes on Tuesdays, hiring a third party to conduct pricing audits, folding pricing accuracy checks into district manager store visits, and creating a full-time position to track failed weights-and-measures inspections and report them up to senior leadership.¹

Separate State and Investor Cases

This class action is not the only pricing case Dollar General has faced, and money paid out under other actions does not flow through the Braun settlement. Pennsylvania’s Attorney General announced a $1.55 million settlement in December 2025 after state inspections between 2019 and 2023 found Dollar General stores failed more than 40% of pricing accuracy tests.¹⁰ Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced a $400,000 settlement in October 2025.¹¹ Missouri sued in September 2023 after finding 92 of 147 inspected locations failed pricing tests, with overcharges averaging $2.71.¹² Ohio filed a similar suit in November 2022. Those are government enforcement actions, and their penalty payments went to the states, not directly to shoppers.

A separate investor securities fraud case is also pending against Dollar General, alleging the company misled shareholders about understaffing, inventory problems, and systematic overcharging between May 2020 and August 2023. That case is unrelated to the shopper settlement and offers no relief to customers.¹³

1
ClassAction.org. $15M Dollar General Settlement Ends Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Price Discrepancies
2
The Guardian. Dollar General Settlement Price Gouging
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USA Today. Dollar General Class Action Settlement Deadline
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WTHR. Dollar General Class Action Overcharge Settlement
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ClassAction.org. Dollar General Class Action Settlement Notice
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The Hill. Impacted Dollar General Shoppers Alerted to Class Action Settlement
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LiveNOW from FOX. Dollar General $8.5M Settlement Last Day to File Claim
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Angeion Group. Braun v. Dolgencorp Settlement Claim Form
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ClaimDepot. DG Price Settlement
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Dollar General Settlement Pennsylvania Prices
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Colorado Attorney General. $400K Settlement With Dollar General for Overcharging Customers
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Missouri Attorney General. Attorney General Bailey Files Suit Against Dollar General for Deceptive Pricing
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BLB&G. Dollar General Corporation Securities Litigation