What Happened in the Costa Del Mar Inflation Lawsuit?

The Costa Del Mar lawsuit is a long-running class action fight over the sunglasses maker’s warranty repair fees, and after nearly a decade in court it has produced no payout to customers. A $40 million settlement was approved in 2021, thrown out by the Eleventh Circuit in 2024, and the federal case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in June 2025. Two related class actions remain active, with a Florida state court trial scheduled for December 2025 and a federal trial in a companion case scheduled for on or after May 4, 2026.

What the Lawsuit Was About

Costa marketed its sunglasses with a “lifetime warranty” and told buyers that damaged glasses could be repaired for a “nominal fee.” The packaging said Costa would replace scratched lenses, frames, and other parts at that nominal cost even when the damage came from accidents, normal wear and tear, or misuse.¹

Customers said the actual fees weren’t nominal at all. They reported charges of $89 for replacement glass lenses, $69 for plastic lenses, and $49 for frames, plus shipping and handling.¹ Brendan Haney, the named plaintiff in the original Florida state court case, was charged $105.18 to replace a pair of shattered lenses.²

Three separate suits eventually took shape around this conduct. Haney v. Costa Del Mar was filed in Duval County, Florida in 2017 under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.³ Smith v. Costa Del Mar followed in 2018 in the Middle District of Florida, targeting a nationwide class under Magnuson-Moss.⁴ Reed v. Costa Del Mar arrived in 2019, also in federal court, covering non-Florida residents charged repair fees.⁵ Costa has denied wrongdoing throughout.

The $40 Million Settlement

The parties reached a deal valued at more than $60 million in total benefits: $40 million in product vouchers for class members plus roughly $21 million to cover shipping, handling, and other costs. Voucher values ran from $8.99 to $19.99. Customers who had paid repair fees could receive $19.99 vouchers; purchase-only class members were entitled to $10 vouchers.⁶

Costa also agreed to stop using the phrase “Lifetime Warranty” and to stop describing its repair charges as “nominal fees.”⁷ A federal judge in the Middle District of Florida gave the deal final approval on September 21, 2021.⁸

Why the Settlement Was Thrown Out

Three class members — Mitchell Miorelli, John Davis, and Austin Valls — objected and then appealed. They argued the vouchers were effectively coupons, which would require heightened scrutiny under the Class Action Fairness Act and tie attorneys’ fees to actual voucher use. They challenged the proposed $12 million in fees as excessive and raised concerns about a possible cy pres payment and signs of collusion.⁹

On February 26, 2024, the Eleventh Circuit vacated the settlement. Judge Elizabeth Branch wrote that the district court abused its discretion by approving a deal that included injunctive relief when the named plaintiffs lacked standing to seek it.¹⁰ All three plaintiffs had already paid their repair fees, so their injuries were in the past and they could not show any threat of future harm — the requirement for a court to order a company to change its behavior going forward.⁴

The trial court had valued the injunctive relief at $5 million and used that figure when weighing whether the settlement was fair, so the appellate court concluded the entire approval was tainted. The Eleventh Circuit also flagged a deeper problem: whether federal courts had jurisdiction over the Magnuson-Moss claims at all, given that the statute requires at least 100 named plaintiffs for a federal class action.⁴

The Federal Case Dismissed

That jurisdictional flag proved fatal. On June 17, 2025, Judge Timothy Corrigan dismissed the federal case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The plaintiffs had never assembled the 100 named plaintiffs required under Magnuson-Moss, and the court held that the Class Action Fairness Act could not supply an alternative jurisdictional basis for those claims.¹¹ Seven years of federal litigation ended with no money reaching class members. The plaintiffs said they intended to refile in state court.⁸

What Is Still Pending

Two proceedings remain live.

In Florida state court, the original Haney case continues. A class of Florida citizens has been certified, covering both purchasers of Costa sunglasses between July 2013 and January 2018 and customers charged repair fees from July 2012 to the present.³ No settlement has been reached. Trial is scheduled for December 2025, and the opt-out deadline for class members passed on July 14, 2025.¹²

The Reed case remains in federal court before Judge Roy Dalton in the Middle District of Florida. It covers a nationwide class of non-Florida residents charged repair fees between April 2015 and January 2026, with trial scheduled for on or after May 4, 2026.⁵ The court has not yet reached a decision, no settlement has been reached, and the plaintiff still has to prove the claims at trial.¹³

What Costa Has Changed

Costa has already adjusted its warranty language regardless of what happens next in court. The company now distinguishes between products purchased before and after November 3, 2022. Older products carried a “Limited Lifetime Warranty” covering defects in materials or workmanship for the “lifetime of the product,” with proof of purchase required; damage from normal wear and tear, scratched lenses, broken hinges, accidents, and misuse were listed as “out of warranty.”¹⁴ Products purchased on or after that date fall under a separate, newer policy. The shift aligns with the injunctive relief Costa had agreed to in the now-vacated settlement, including dropping the “Lifetime Warranty” branding.⁷

1
ClassAction.org. Lawsuit Alleges Costa Del Mar Charges Substantial Repair Fees Contrary to Warranty Promise
2
Jacksonville Daily Record. Class Action Lawsuit Certified in Costa Del Mar Sunglasses Case
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Costa Sunglasses Litigation. Haney v. Costa Del Mar Frequently Asked Questions
4
FindLaw. Smith v. Costa Del Mar Inc.
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Costa Repairs Class Action. Reed v. Costa Del Mar Frequently Asked Questions
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Top Class Actions. Costa Sunglasses Lifetime Warranty Class Action Settlement
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Truth in Advertising. Lifetime Warranty on Costa Sunglasses
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Bloomberg Law. Costa Sunglasses $40 Million Consumer Class Settlement Upended
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Justia. Smith v. Costa Del Mar Inc., Final Approval Order
10
Daily Business Review. 11th Circuit Vacates Class Action Settlement Against Sunglasses Maker Costa Del Mar
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Law360. Sunglass Suit Tossed After 11th Circuit Nixes $40M Deal
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Costa Sunglasses Litigation. Haney v. Costa Del Mar Class Action
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Costa Repairs Class Action. Reed v. Costa Del Mar Class Action
14
Costa Del Mar. Costa Limited Warranties for Products Purchased Before November 3, 2022