"I got a $4 check from a class action lawsuit." You've seen the jokes. The tiny payouts are a meme at this point. But there's more to the story than the punchline — and writing off settlements entirely means leaving real money behind.
Why some checks are tiny
Class action math is simple division. Take a $50 million settlement, split it among 10 million eligible people, and everyone gets $5. The settlement amount sounds huge, but when divided by millions of class members, individual payouts shrink fast.
This happens most with consumer product settlements — things everyone buys, like groceries, phone plans, or airline tickets. The class is enormous, so the per-person amount is small.
Why you should file anyway
It takes 2 minutes. Filing a claim for a $5 settlement takes less time than scrolling through your phone. That's $150/hour for your time. You'd pick up a $5 bill off the sidewalk — this is the same thing.
Not all settlements are small. Data breach settlements regularly pay $100-$10,000. Product defect settlements can pay thousands. The $4 check gets the headlines, but the $500 direct deposit doesn't.
Filing reduces corporate profit from wrongdoing. When you don't file, the company keeps the money. Low claim rates are literally factored into their cost-benefit analysis when deciding whether to break the law. Every claim filed makes bad behavior more expensive.
Settlements that actually pay well
- Data breaches: $100 - $25,000 depending on documented losses
- Employment/wage theft: $500 - $5,000+ based on hours worked
- Product defects: $200 - $10,000+ for safety-related issues
- Financial/banking: $50 - $1,000 for account holder settlements
- Vehicle defects: $375 - $4,500+ depending on impact
The real strategy
File for everything. Yes, even the $5 ones — they take 2 minutes. But focus your energy on finding the higher-value settlements you qualify for. Most people qualify for 5-15 settlements at any given time. If a few of those are in the $100+ range, you're looking at meaningful money for very little effort.
The people who dismiss all settlements because of one $4 check are the reason 96% of settlement funds go unclaimed. Don't be one of them.
Find every settlement you qualify for — including the high-value ones →