Dr. Squatch Lawyers Ask for $3 Million of the $9 Million — Buyers Get 50 Cents a Product, $12.50 at Most. The Objection Window Closed October 13; the Claim Deadline Is November 27, 2026.

The Squatch soap false advertising settlement moved into its second phase this month. The official settlement website, run by the court-appointed administrator Eisner Advisory Group, now opens with an update: “On September 29, 2026, Class Counsel filed a Joint Declaration of Class Counsel in support of Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Incentive Award along with a Notice of Motion and Motion for Payment of Attorneys’ Fees.” Both documents are posted on the site’s Court Documents page.

The motion, filed by the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, P.C. and Reese LLP, asks for exactly what the notice said they would: “$3,000,000 in fees (one third of the $9 million Settlement Amount), $42,219.68 in litigation costs, and Incentive Awards of $10,000 each to Plaintiffs Bruno and Fleming who sat for their depositions, and $5,000 to each of the other Class Representatives.” That makes $40,000 in service awards in total. The costs come in under the $50,000 ceiling in the settlement — $7,780.32 under, by our arithmetic.

The other date that just passed: October 13, 2026 was the last day to exclude yourself or to file a written objection. Anyone who bought a covered product and did not opt out by then is in the class and will be bound by the release if the court approves the deal. As of October 14, 2026, neither the official site nor the new filings say how many people opted out, objected or filed claims. Class counsel write that “final figures for the number of Class Members and claims submitted will be reported in connection with the Motion for Final Approval,” which is due January 22, 2027.

The settlement agreement sets a starting rate, not a fixed check. Section 4.1.5 pays “$0.50 per Product for which Proof of Purchase is provided, up to a maximum of twenty (20) units,” and “$0.50 per Product, up to a maximum of five (5) units” without proof. The two are cumulative: twenty units with receipts and five without come to “twenty-five units for $12.50.” Without any receipt the most you can claim is $2.50. Only one claim form is allowed per household.

The 50 cents can move in either direction. If valid claims add up to more than the money left after fees, costs, awards and administration, payments shrink pro rata; if they add up to less, the agreement says the benefit “shall be increased on a pro rata basis.” The fund is non-reversionary, so nothing goes back to Dr. Squatch.

Here is what the fee request means for that pot. If the court grants everything asked for and administration costs the estimated $475,000, the money left for claims is $5,442,780.32 — our subtraction from $9,000,000. That covers about 435,000 households at the full $12.50, or about 10.9 million products at 50 cents. Put differently, the $3 million fee equals about 55% of what would remain for buyers. Class counsel defend the figure with a lodestar cross-check: “a total of 2360 hours on this matter over several years of litigation, which amount to $2,856,500 in total fees,” a multiplier of “approximately 1.05” that they say “will likely be less than one by the time of final approval.” The judge decides the fee at the March 2, 2027 hearing and can award less than requested.

The official site defines the class as “all Persons who purchased Covered Products from Dr. Squatch, LLC in the United States between November 1, 2018 through August 29, 2026.” Covered Products are any Dr. Squatch items with “natural” on the label; the FAQ lists 19 “Men’s Natural” lines, from bar soap, body wash, shampoo and deodorant to toothpaste and wipes. One wrinkle: the settlement agreement and the new fee papers start the class period on November 17, 2018, while the court’s order and the official site say November 1, 2018. We follow the official site; buyers from the first half of November 2018 can ask the administrator.

What to do now:

• File a claim. The claim deadline is November 27, 2026. File online through the “Submit a Claim” button on PersonalCareProductsSettlement.com, or mail the paper form, which must be “postmarked no later than November 27, 2026.”
• Gather receipts. Proof of purchase lifts your cap from five to twenty-five products.
• Opt-outs and objections are no longer possible; that deadline was October 13, 2026.
• Expect to wait. The FAQ is blunt: “No money or benefits are available now because the Court has not yet decided whether to approve the Settlement.”

When money can arrive: after the final approval hearing on March 2, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific in Department 11, 312 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, the settlement becomes effective only once the time to appeal has run out. Dr. Squatch then has 21 days to fund the account, and the administrator has 60 days after funding to pay — up to 81 days after the Effective Date, by our count. Payments go out by check, PayPal, Zelle or e-Mastercard; checks are valid for 180 days, and uncashed money goes to a second distribution to class members who cashed, if that is feasible.

Yes. The settlement is a court case, Guzman et al. v. Dr. Squatch, LLC, No. 25STCV03523, in Los Angeles Superior Court, and the fee motion confirms that “the Court also appointed Eisner Advisory Group, LLC (‘EAG’) as Settlement Administrator.” The official website is PersonalCareProductsSettlement.com; the name does not mention Dr. Squatch, which is why many people suspect it is fake. Its own claim button leads to the online form. The administrator’s contacts are the toll-free number 1-855-706-1956 and Dr. Squatch Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 1389, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.

To stay safe, type the address yourself instead of tapping a link in a message, and compare the case number. The settlement only needs your purchase details and a payment choice; nothing on the official site asks for a fee. The FAQ also asks people not to call the court, Dr. Squatch or its lawyers about the settlement.

The controversy behind this case is one word. The plaintiffs allege that Dr. Squatch “represented that certain of its products (‘Products’) were natural even though the Products contained certain ingredients Plaintiffs alleged were synthetic,” and that this violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Dr. Squatch “has at all times denied, and continues to deny, the allegations,” maintains the products were properly labeled, and settled without admitting wrongdoing.

The fight is older than the Los Angeles case. Class counsel’s declaration says “the first matter was filed on September 8, 2022 in the Northern District of Illinois by Plaintiff Fleming, followed by cases thereafter filed in New York, Florida and California.” After a mediation with retired judge Wayne Andersen, the cases were consolidated in a complaint filed in Los Angeles on February 10, 2025, the parties agreed on terms on July 17, 2025, and the court granted preliminary approval on July 15, 2026.

Questions about the company’s politics or social positions, such as whether Dr. Squatch supports LGBTQ causes, are a different matter. This settlement does not touch them: the release covers only claims “relating to or arising from Dr. Squatch’s use of the term ‘natural’ on its Products,” and for anything else the company itself is the place to ask. The release also excludes personal-injury claims.