Walmart has been the target of numerous overcharge lawsuits and regulatory actions in recent years, ranging from a $45 million class-action settlement over inflated weights on meat and produce to state fines in Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, California, and North Carolina for charging more at the register than what shelf tags advertised. If you shopped at Walmart between 2018 and 2024, bought weighted groceries or bagged citrus, or noticed a receipt total that didn’t match the shelf price, some of these cases may apply to you.
The $45 Million Weighted Groceries Settlement
The largest overcharge case against Walmart is Kukorinis v. Walmart Inc., filed in October 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The lawsuit alleged that Walmart’s point-of-sale system inflated the weight of sold-by-weight products, including meat, poultry, pork, and seafood, along with bagged organic citrus sold in mesh or plastic bags at stores across the United States and Puerto Rico.1SeafoodSource. Walmart to Pay $45 Million in Class-Action Settlement
In September 2023, Walmart agreed to pay $45 million to settle the case. The company denied wrongdoing and said settling was “in the best interest of both parties.”1SeafoodSource. Walmart to Pay $45 Million in Class-Action Settlement
Eligible customers who bought qualifying products between October 19, 2018, and January 19, 2024, could receive between $10 (for up to 50 items claimed without proof of purchase) and $500 (for claimants who submitted receipts, calculated at two percent of total qualifying purchases). The claim deadline was June 5, 2024. Initial payments went out in December 2025, and a second round for claimants whose first payment failed is expected to continue into 2026.2Walmart Weighted Groceries Settlement. Settlement Homepage
If you submitted a claim and haven’t received payment, watch for a reissued check or electronic distribution in the second-round window. New claims are no longer being accepted.
Shelf Price Versus Register Price Lawsuits
A separate set of lawsuits alleges Walmart routinely rings items up at higher prices than what appears on the shelf tag. Several complaints frame this as a bait-and-switch pattern rather than isolated scanner errors.
The Illinois Case and Its Federal Appellate Ruling
Yoram Kahn sued Walmart in Illinois after a 2022 shopping trip in which he says six of fifteen items rang up higher than the shelf price, making his total about seven percent more than expected.3Scripps News. Walmart Faces Lawsuit Over Deceptive Pricing After Customer Said He Was Overcharged The complaint alleged similar discrepancies at stores in Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, with markups of 10 to 15 percent on individual items amounting to “hundreds of millions of dollars each year.”4FOX 5 San Diego. Walmart Facing Class-Action Lawsuit Over Deceptive and Unfair Pricing Practices
A federal district court threw the case out in March 2023, reasoning that a receipt printed at checkout gave customers enough information to catch any mistake. On July 3, 2024, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that dismissal in Kahn v. Walmart Inc., No. 23-1751. Writing for the panel, Circuit Judge David Hamilton held that a receipt handed over after payment does not cure deception, because corrective information has to reach the shopper before the purchase. The court rejected the notion that a reasonable customer should be expected to audit every line of a receipt at the register, describing that as an “unreasonable effort.”5FindLaw. Kahn v. Walmart Inc., No. 23-1751
The ruling let Kahn proceed on both deceptive and unfair claims under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The case is ongoing.
Similar Cases in DC and Pennsylvania
Rector v. Walmart Inc. was filed in the District of Columbia Superior Court in January 2024, alleging five to ten percent gaps between shelf and register prices in violation of the DC Consumer Protection Procedures Act.6The Well News. Walmart Sued in Class Action Over Alleged Pricing Deception Walmart moved the case to federal court and asked the judge to compel arbitration or dismiss the complaint.7Justia Dockets. Rector v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 1:2024cv00658 As of August 2025, that case is paused pending the outcome of the Illinois litigation.8Law360. DC Judge Pauses Walmart Pricing Suit Citing Chicago Case
Myers v. Walmart Inc., filed in August 2024, alleges specific items including Tyson chicken nuggets and Carter’s baby clothing rang up higher than their sticker prices, in violation of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The case was pending in the Western District of Arkansas as of early 2025.9PACER Monitor. Myers v. Walmart Inc., Docket Entry 35
State Fines for Register Pricing Errors
State regulators have separately fined Walmart for failing pricing-accuracy inspections. These are enforcement settlements rather than class actions, so individual shoppers typically don’t receive direct payments, but the findings show a pattern.
Colorado and Nevada
On July 13, 2023, Colorado and Nevada announced simultaneous settlements. Colorado inspectors ran 17 store checks between March and July 2022 and Walmart failed nine of them, meaning more than two percent of sampled items were priced higher at the register than on the shelf.10Colorado Attorney General. Walmart Colorado Assurance of Discontinuance Walmart paid $3 million to Colorado, with the money directed to food pantries and low-income food programs.11The Center Square. Walmart to Pay $3 Million Over Pricing Errors Nevada found similar failures in four of nine inspections in the northern part of the state and reached a $2 million settlement.12Nevada Attorney General. Attorney General Ford Announces Settlement With Walmart
Both settlements require added training, limits on how many shelf labels employees may print at once, and quarterly pricing inspections.10Colorado Attorney General. Walmart Colorado Assurance of Discontinuance
New Jersey
In June 2024, New Jersey Attorney General reached a $1.64 million settlement with Walmart over unit-pricing violations at 64 stores. Early-2023 inspections turned up more than 2,000 incorrect unit measurements. It was the largest settlement ever obtained by the state’s Office of Weights and Measures. Walmart had previously paid $226,950 in similar fines in 2021 and 2022, and the new settlement requires annual internal audits at every New Jersey store for three years.13New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. Walmart Unit Pricing Settlement Announcement
California
In August 2025, district attorneys in Santa Clara, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Sonoma counties secured a $5.6 million settlement covering allegations that Walmart overcharged customers and mislabeled the weight of produce, baked goods, and prepared items in violation of California’s False Advertising and Unfair Competition Laws. The deal includes $5.5 million in civil penalties and requires Walmart to maintain employees specifically responsible for price and weight accuracy across its 280 California stores. Walmart had already paid $2.1 million in California in 2012 for overcharging consumers, which itself violated a 2008 judgment.14Santa Clara County District Attorney. Walmart Overcharged Customers, Will Pay $5.6 Million to Settle Consumer Protection Lawsuit
North Carolina
In the second quarter of 2022, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services fined nearly 20 Walmart stores for excessive price-scanner errors. Individual penalties ranged from $1,200 to $11,745 per location.15N.C. Department of Agriculture. 61 Stores Pay Fines for Price Scanning Errors in 32 Counties
Walmart+ Subscription Billing Complaints
Not every unexpected charge from Walmart comes from a store visit. A class-action lawsuit, Lee v. Walmart Inc., was filed in Michigan in September 2022, alleging some customers were billed a monthly or annual fee immediately upon signing up for what was marketed as a “free” trial of Walmart+. The complaint also claimed that customers who canceled kept getting billed because of “known internal errors” in Walmart’s system, and that Walmart used “negative option” enrollment, automatically converting trials into paid subscriptions without adequate notice.16Walmart. Walmart Billing and Payments
Under Walmart’s own terms, trial memberships automatically renew into a paid plan unless canceled, membership fees are non-refundable, and disputes are subject to mandatory individual arbitration rather than class actions.17Walmart. Walmart Terms of Use To cancel, sign in to your Walmart.com account settings or call customer care at (800) 924-9206.18Walmart. Manage Walmart+ Membership
What To Do if You Think You Were Overcharged
If you spot a Walmart charge on your bank or credit card statement that you don’t recognize, Walmart’s own guidance says to contact your card issuer first, because the financial institution is “the best place to turn to recover those funds.”19Walmart. Account Security and Unrecognized Charges or Orders Walmart also recommends resetting your account password, removing saved payment methods, and updating credentials on any other accounts that share the same login. The “Chat with us” feature on Walmart’s help page accepts the phrase “Unauthorized Charges” to route you to further assistance.
Charges from Walmart Business accounts appear on statements as “Walmart.com,” while Walmart Business+ charges show up as “Walmart Business+.”20Walmart Business. Unrecognized Charges or Orders If you believe you were the target of fraud, you can also file a report with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or your state attorney general’s consumer fraud division.21Walmart Corporate. Fraud Alerts
For a shelf-versus-register discrepancy, take a photo of the shelf tag before you leave the store and ask for a refund of the difference at customer service. State weights-and-measures offices, such as those in Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, and California, accept complaints from shoppers and use them to trigger the inspections that led to the settlements described above.