Published
August 24, 2026
This $20 million settlement resolves claims that the companies that marketed VSL#3 told buyers the version sold from 2016 to 2019 had been proven effective in clinical testing when it had not. If you bought VSL#3 in that window, you can claim $20 per bottle or box — one unit with nothing but your own certification, or up to 40 units if you have receipts or a notice from the administrator.
Current Status
Claims are open. Claim forms must be postmarked or submitted online by October 20, 2026, and the same date is the deadline to exclude yourself or to object. The court has scheduled a final approval hearing for January 6, 2027 at 2:30 p.m. in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the settlement has not yet been approved. No payment date has been announced. The parties have proposed that benefits be paid within 60 days after the settlement's Effective Date, but the notice cautions that the date of final approval is not known and that distribution could be delayed for other reasons.
Status
Claims Open
Final approval hearing January 6, 2027
Claim Deadline
October 20, 2026
Postmarked or submitted online · same date to opt out or object
Estimated Payout
$20 per unit, up to $800
One unit per household without proof · up to 40 units with proof · subject to pro rata adjustment
Proof Required
No
A one-unit claim needs only your certification — but receipts or a Notice ID unlock a much larger payment
What Changed Recently?
The settlement is newly open to claims. VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Leadiant Biosciences, Inc., and Alfasigma USA, Inc. have agreed to pay $20 million to create a settlement fund, resolving Starr v. VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 8:19-cv-02173-LKG, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The court has already certified the case to proceed as a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, and notice has gone out to purchasers the parties were able to identify from company and retailer sales records.The defendants deny all the legal claims in the case. The court has not decided whether the plaintiffs' claims are correct, and the notice states plainly that the settlement does not mean any law was broken or that the defendants did anything wrong. Both sides agreed to settle to avoid the cost and uncertainty of a trial.
What the Case Alleged
VSL#3 is a consumer product sold in bottles and boxes through retailers and online. The defendants are the companies that licensed, marketed, and sold it during the class period.The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants falsely represented to consumers that the formulation of VSL#3 sold during the class period had been proven effective in clinical testing — the substance of the claim being that the clinical evidence buyers were pointed to did not apply to the version actually on the shelf during that window. The plaintiffs claimed that purchasers therefore overpaid for the product. The defendants dispute those allegations, and no court has determined that the plaintiffs are correct.
This is a pricing and labeling case, not an injury case. That distinction carries through to the release, and it is covered further down.
Who Qualifies?
You are a class member if you purchased VSL#3 in the United States between June 1, 2016 and June 19, 2019.There is no requirement that you be a repeat buyer or have any ongoing purchase history — a single qualifying purchase in that window is enough.
You are excluded from the class if you are an officer or director of Alfasigma, Leadiant, or VSL, or of their parents, subsidiaries or affiliates, or of any entity in which the defendants hold a controlling interest; if you are a person or entity that purchased VSL#3 exclusively for resale to a consumer; or if you are a judge assigned to any part of this litigation, that judge's staff or immediate family, or Class Counsel, their staff, or their immediate family.
Receiving a postcard or email notice means sales records suggest you may have purchased VSL#3 during the class period. It is not a determination that you are a class member or that you will be paid.
How Much Can You Get?
The benefit is $20 per unit of VSL#3 purchased. A unit is a bottle or box — and in a multipack, each bottle counts as its own unit, so a three-bottle pack is three units rather than one. That detail is easy to miss and it changes the math on a typical purchase.How many units you can claim depends on what you can show:
- No proof of purchase and no notice: one unit per household, or $20. You certify that you bought at least one unit during the class period.
- With proof of purchase: the greater of three units or the total number of units you can document — so having any receipt at all is worth at least $60 rather than $20.
- Maximum: 40 units, or $800, per the notice.
Notice credentials count as proof. If you received a notice containing a Notice ID and Confirmation Code, that means Class Counsel obtained records of your purchases from the defendants and certain retailers, and filing with those credentials credits you for the units in those records. If your own receipts show more units than the records do, you can submit the receipts instead and claim the larger number.
The $20 is a starting figure, not a guarantee. If the total value of valid claims comes in under the money available, per-unit payments increase pro rata — but the notice caps that increase at three times the stated amounts. If valid claims exceed the money available, per-unit payments are reduced pro rata.
The $20 million fund is reduced before any of it reaches class members. Court-approved notice costs, settlement administration costs, attorneys' fees and expenses, and service awards to the class representatives all come off the top. Class Counsel will seek up to one third of the fund — up to $6,666,666.67 — plus reasonable expenses, and up to $10,000 for each class representative. The court must approve those amounts, and the fee request is due to be filed by September 21, 2026, which is before the October 20 objection deadline, so anyone who wants to see the actual numbers before deciding whether to object can check the settlement website after that date.
What Proof Is Required?
None, for the minimum claim. This settlement has a genuine no-proof tier: with no notice credentials and no receipts, you may claim one unit per household by certifying that you purchased at least one unit of VSL#3 between June 1, 2016 and June 19, 2019.Proof is what raises the ceiling. The claim form offers three routes:
- Option 1 — Notice credentials. Enter the Notice ID from your personalized email or postcard notice and claim the units reflected in the records already obtained.
- Option 2 — Your own records. Attach proof of purchase such as receipts and write in the total number of units documented. If you received a notice and also have receipts, you may claim under whichever option yields more units.
- Option 3 — Certification only. No notice, no receipts, one unit per household.
Claims may be subject to audit, verification, and court review, and the form is signed under an affirmation that the statements are true and accurate.
What Are the Deadlines?
October 20, 2026 is the operative date for all three choices, which is unusual — on many settlements the opt-out deadline falls earlier than the claim deadline. Here they coincide:- Submit a claim — postmarked or submitted online by October 20, 2026.
- Exclude yourself — a written exclusion request must be mailed by October 20, 2026. A sample exclusion form is available on the settlement website. Opting out means no payment, but you keep any right to sue the defendants separately over your VSL#3 purchases.
- Object — objections must be filed with the court, with copies to Class Counsel, by October 20, 2026, and must meet the content requirements set out in the notice, including the case name and number, your contact details, signature, the specific grounds, and whether you intend to appear at the hearing.
Doing nothing means no payment and no preserved right to sue — you stay in the class and are bound by the release.
How Do You File?
Claims are submitted through the official settlement website, VSL3Lawsuit.com, which is administered by Angeion Group, or by mailing the completed and signed paper claim form attached to the notice.Important: the payment method depends on how you file. Filing the paper form is treated as electing payment by check. PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, and virtual prepaid card are offered only on the online claim form. If you want an electronic payment, file online.
The online portal asks first whether you have a Notice ID and Confirmation Code. If you do, you log in with them. If you did not receive a notice, the portal lets you enter an email address to receive a code and proceed to the full claim form, so a missing notice is not a barrier to filing.
What You Give Up
Filing a claim, or simply doing nothing and remaining in the class, releases your claims against the defendants relating to the purchase or use of VSL#3 products, the marketing representations about them — including statements or omissions about clinical studies, ingredients, efficacy, and where VSL#3 is manufactured — and any claims that were raised or could have been raised within the scope of the facts asserted in the litigation. The release reaches known and unknown claims and covers conduct occurring on or before the date the preliminary approval order was entered.One carve-out is worth stating plainly: the released claims do not include legal claims for personal injury. This settlement is about having overpaid for the product, not about harm to health. Anyone who believes they were physically harmed and is weighing what this release does and does not cover should talk to a lawyer about their own situation rather than rely on a summary.
What Happens Next?
Class Counsel's application for attorneys' fees, costs, administration expenses, and service awards is due to be filed by September 21, 2026, and will be available through the settlement website. The final approval hearing is set for January 6, 2027 at 2:30 p.m. at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt. At that hearing the court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, will consider any objections, and will rule on the fee and service award requests.The notice warns that the hearing may be moved to a different date or time without further notice and that the settlement website will be updated with any change, so anyone planning to attend should confirm the date first. Class members do not need to attend to receive a payment.
If the court grants final approval, the parties have proposed that benefits be paid within 60 days after the Effective Date. No payment date has been announced, and the notice is explicit that the timing of final approval is not known and that distribution could be delayed.
Class Action Summary
| Case Title | Starr v. VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Case Number | 8:19-cv-02173-LKG |
| Court | U.S. District Court, District of Maryland |
| Defendants | VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Leadiant Biosciences, Inc.; Alfasigma USA, Inc. |
| Settlement Fund | $20,000,000 |
| Class Period | June 1, 2016 – June 19, 2019 (U.S. purchases) |
| Benefit | $20 per unit · 1 unit with no proof · up to 40 units ($800) with proof |
| Claim Deadline | October 20, 2026 |
| Opt-Out / Object By | October 20, 2026 |
| Final Approval Hearing | January 6, 2027 at 2:30 PM |
| Administrator | Angeion Group |
| Official Website | VSL3 Lawsuit.com |
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website — VSL3 Lawsuit.com• Court-authorized Notice of Class Action Settlement and the VSL#3 Class Settlement Claim Form
• Settlement website FAQ and online claim portal
• Starr v. VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 8:19-cv-02173-LKG (D. Md.) — Settlement Agreement and preliminary approval order
Questions
What counts as a unit of VSL#3?
A unit is a single bottle or box of VSL#3. In a multipack, each bottle counts separately — three bottles packaged together count as three units, not one. That matters because the benefit is calculated per unit, so a multipack purchase is worth more than the number of transactions on a receipt would suggest.
Could my payment be more or less than $20 per unit?
Both are possible. If the total value of valid claims comes in below the money available, per-unit payments increase pro rata, but the notice caps that increase at three times the stated amounts. If claims exceed the available money, per-unit payments are reduced pro rata. The $20 figure is the starting point for the calculation, not a guaranteed amount.
I got a notice but I also kept my receipts. Which should I use?
Use whichever shows more units. Notice credentials reflect the purchase records that Class Counsel obtained from the defendants and certain retailers, and they count as proof of purchase for the units in those records. If your own receipts show more purchases than the records do, you can submit that proof instead to claim the larger number.
Why can't I get an electronic payment on the paper claim form?
The paper form is check-only by design — filling it out is treated as electing payment by check. PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, and virtual prepaid card are offered only through the online claim form on the official settlement website. If you want an electronic payment, file online rather than by mail.
Does this settlement release a personal injury claim?
No. The release in the settlement agreement is broad and covers claims relating to the purchase, use, and marketing of VSL#3 products, but it states expressly that released claims do not include legal claims for personal injury. Anyone weighing that distinction for their own situation should speak with a lawyer rather than relying on a summary.
Official Settlement Notice
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
$20,000,000
Case Title
Starr v. VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Case Number
8:19-cv-02173-LKG
Court
U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
Final Approval Hearing
January 6, 2027 at 2:30 PM
Greenbelt, Maryland · date and time may change
Administrator
Angeion Group
Official Website
VSL3 Lawsuit.com
Free settlement alerts
Get notified when new class actions open to claims
Join thousands of readers who get the latest class action settlements you may qualify for — delivered straight to your inbox.
