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In the fall of 2021, Drewe Raimi, then a college senior, filed a claim in a class-action lawsuit against Juul, the manufacturer of the popular e-cigarettes. News of the suit had been circulating on social media, and many of Ms. Raimi’s friends also filed claims.
Then, she forgot all about it.
On Monday, around 7 p.m., Ms. Raimi, now 23, received an unexpected payment over Venmo of nearly $3,500. The sender? “Juul Labs, Inc. Settlement Administrator.”
Naturally, she did what any self-respecting member of her generation would do: She made a TikTok about it.
“POV: you just got $3k Venmo from a class action lawsuit against JUUL you forgot you filled out as a JOKE 2 years ago in college,” read text over a video of Ms. Raimi’s celebrating. The song “Life Is Worth Living,” by Justin Bieber, played in the background.
@dreweraimi #JuulClassAction #classaction #juul ♬ Original Sound – Unknown Like Ms. Raimi, dozens of TikTok users are now uploading videos about receiving payments for these claims. (A related group of videos have cropped up from Juul users who are bemoaning their failure to fill out a claim.)
The payouts stem from a complex lawsuit that accused Juul of misleading the public about how addictive its products are and the risks associated with using them, as well as unlawfully marketing the products to teenagers.
In March of this year, a federal judge approved the payment of $45 million by the tobacco giant Altria, which previously owned 35 percent of Juul, to settle the suit. That’s on top of the $255 million Juul had agreed to pay in a separate settlement, approved in January 2024. As of March, more than 14 million claims had been filed.
According to the terms of the settlement, claimants who did not provide receipts for their purchases had their recovery capped at $300.
For Kevin Lanning, 39, of West Palm Beach, Fla., the timing of the settlement was auspicious. Earlier this year, Mr. Lanning left his job at Google to start a podcast, Rise Above with Kevin Lanning, about overcoming adversity, including addiction. Mr. Lanning, who is sober, said he had become addicted to vaping after someone at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting offered him a drag off a Juul.
“The mango pods were absolutely phenomenal, they tasted like candy,” said Mr. Lanning. “I instantly became addicted to them.”
@rawithk #stitch with @JENNIFER LE #greenscreen #juul #juulclassaction #classaction ♬ original sound – Rise Above with Kevin Lanning Tuesday morning, Mr. Lanning posted an explanatory video about the settlement to TikTok, in front of a screenshot of his Venmo payment of $1,093.74.
For both Mr. Lanning and Ms. Raimi, the settlement wasn’t just a blast from the past, but a reminder of a dropped habit.
Two years ago, Mr. Lanning quit vaping. Ms. Raimi stopped as well.
“That was college me,” she said.
And what will the plaintiffs spend their money on? Ms. Raimi, for one, hasn’t made up her mind.
“I’m split between spending it on a designer purse or putting it in stocks,” she said. “Smart or stupid — I haven’t decided which road I’m taking yet.”
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