SNAP recipients who bought Aldi groceries online through Instacart or Aldi Express may be covered by a proposed class action alleging Aldi illegally charged them delivery, expedited fulfillment and convenience fees. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Aldi has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Aldi is facing a proposed class action in California state court over fees charged to shoppers who pay for online grocery orders with SNAP benefits. The complaint, filed in late September 2026 and reported by Law360 on September 29, alleges that Aldi illegally charged SNAP recipients delivery, expedited fulfillment and convenience fees when they ordered through Instacart or Aldi Express. The case is at the complaint stage: no class has been certified, Aldi has not been found liable, and there is nothing to claim.The suit was brought by the law firms James Hawkins APLC and The Markham Law Firm, according to Supermarket News. Neither firm nor Aldi could be reached for comment by that outlet.
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What the Lawsuit Alleges
Based on the published reports, the plaintiffs’ theory is that SNAP shoppers were made to pay extra, non-food charges to get their groceries, on top of the cost of the food itself. The suit targets three kinds of charges on online orders: delivery fees, expedited fulfillment fees and convenience fees. It claims those fees fall hardest on low-income households, who rely on SNAP to buy food and may have few other ways to get groceries home.The plaintiffs claim the charges were unlawful. Aldi has not had the chance to answer the complaint in court, and none of the allegations has been tested by a judge or jury.
How Aldi Handles SNAP Payments Online
Aldi began accepting SNAP benefits for online orders through Instacart in November 2020, Supermarket News reported. Aldi’s current SNAP payment page says the chain accepts SNAP through EBT cards at participating online pickup and delivery locations, and that only items sold by ALDI.us qualify.The same page spells out what SNAP cannot cover: tips, delivery fees, ordering fees, convenience fees and any item that is not SNAP-eligible. Those, it says, have to be paid with another method, such as a credit or debit card. The lawsuit challenges whether shoppers relying on SNAP should be charged those fees at all.
The Earlier Case in Federal Court
Court records show an earlier proposed class action, Sir Caesar La Tour II v. Aldi Foods, Inc., filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 28, 2026 against Aldi Foods, Inc., Aldi, Inc. and Aldi Express. Aldi moved it to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on August 6, 2026, where it was docketed as No. 2:26-cv-08737 before Judge John F. Walter.The plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in September, signed by attorney James Hawkins. On September 21, 2026, the court dismissed the case without prejudice, with each side bearing its own fees and costs. A dismissal without prejudice leaves the door open to refiling. The new state-court complaint was reported about a week later. The federal docket does not include the complaint’s text, so OCA has not confirmed that the two cases make identical claims.
What Happens Next
Aldi will have a chance to respond to the new complaint. Defendants in cases like this one often ask the court to dismiss the claims, and a defendant can also move a state case to federal court, as happened with the earlier filing. Any class would have to be certified by a judge before the case could proceed on behalf of SNAP shoppers as a group. OCA will update this page as the case develops.Questions
Can I join the Aldi SNAP delivery fee lawsuit?
Not yet. The case is a proposed class action at the complaint stage. No class has been certified, there is no settlement, and there is no claim form. If a class is certified or a settlement is reached, a court-approved notice would explain who is covered and how to take part.
What fees does the Aldi SNAP lawsuit challenge?
According to published reports on the complaint, the suit challenges delivery fees, expedited fulfillment fees and convenience fees that Aldi allegedly charged SNAP shoppers who ordered groceries online through Instacart or Aldi Express. The plaintiffs claim these non-food charges unfairly burden low-income shoppers. Aldi has not been found liable.
Does Aldi accept SNAP for online grocery orders?
Aldi’s SNAP payment page says it accepts SNAP benefits through EBT cards at participating Aldi online pickup and delivery locations, and that only items sold by ALDI.us can be paid for with SNAP. The same page says SNAP cannot be used for tips, delivery fees, ordering fees, convenience fees or non-eligible items, which must be paid with another method such as a credit or debit card.
What happened to the earlier Aldi case in federal court?
A proposed class action filed against Aldi entities in Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 28, 2026 was moved to federal court in August 2026. The plaintiff then voluntarily dismissed it, and the court dismissed the case without prejudice on September 21, 2026, with each side bearing its own fees and costs. A dismissal without prejudice allows a claim to be filed again.
Sources
- CourtListener: La Tour v. Aldi Foods, Inc., No. 2:26-cv-08737 (C.D. Cal.)
- Supermarket News: Aldi sued over SNAP delivery fees (October 2, 2026)
- Law360: Aldi sued over online order delivery fees by SNAP users (September 29, 2026)
- Aldi: SNAP EBT payment information
