Palm Beach Tan Class Action Lawsuit: Two Settlements, One Still Awaiting Approval
Settled — Claims Period Closed
Claim deadline was October 4, 2026 · as of Oct 13, 2026
When people search for a Palm Beach Tan class action lawsuit, they usually mean one of two settlements. The newer one is a $2.5 million deal over marketing texts the company kept sending after customers replied STOP. Claims closed October 4, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for December 29, 2026. The older one is an Illinois fingerprint case. It was approved in 2022 and was set up to pay in four equal yearly rounds of $322.52. It closed to new claims years ago.
Questions about this case?
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Can I Still File?
The claim deadline, what the settlement pays and where to file — plus other settlements still taking claims.
No. The claim deadline was October 4, 2026.
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We are not a claims administrator and not affiliated with any settlement. File only at the official settlement website — filing is always free.
What the Lawsuits Say Happened
The text-message case (Hudson). The lawsuit alleges that Palm Beach Tan kept sending promotional texts about tanning products and services after people asked it to stop. The named plaintiff says he had been on the National Do-Not-Call Registry since 2009 and replied STOP more than once. The claim is brought under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The marketing agency Archer Malmo, Inc. was added as a defendant in 2025.
The settlement reads “stop request” broadly, according to TCPAWorld’s summary of the agreement. Replies like “unsubscribe,” “cancel,” “quit,” “opt out,” “no,” “help” and “remove” count, and so does a stop sign emoji or a misspelled version.
The fingerprint case (Rottner). The lawsuit claimed Palm Beach Tan broke the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). It said the salons collected customers’ fingerprint data through a check-in scanner without meeting the law’s requirements. Palm Beach Tan denied the allegations, and it settled without admitting wrongdoing.
Case details
Text case: Hudson v. Palm Beach Tan, Inc., et al., No. 1:23-cv-00486-WO-JEP, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Judge William L. Osteen Jr. is assigned, and Magistrate Judge Joi Elizabeth Peake handled pretrial orders. The case was filed June 19, 2023.
Fingerprint case: Rottner v. Palm Beach Tan, Inc., No. 2015-CH-16695, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chancery Division, before Judge Celia G. Gamrath.
Not a consumer case: Sunless, Inc. v. Palm Beach Tan, Inc. was a trademark dispute. The maker of Mystic Tan spray booths said Palm Beach Tan had rigged its booths to run the chain’s own solution. On May 6, 2022, the Sixth Circuit (No. 21-3616) affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction. Nobody gets money from that case.
Status as of October 2026: Claims Closed, Approval Pending
Fingerprint case: approved, paid in yearly installments, closed to new claims. The court gave final approval after a June 21, 2022 hearing. The official site says the first $322.52 payment went out on August 18, 2022. It says three more equal payments would follow once a year, each expected around September 4. The claim deadline was May 30, 2022. For the latest on the last round, see our report on both Palm Beach Tan settlements.
Who Is Covered
Text settlement: You are covered if Palm Beach Tan sent you a text after your number had texted it a stop request between June 19, 2019 and July 5, 2026. Whether you are in the class does not depend on filing a claim. Filing decided whether you get paid, and that deadline was October 4, 2026.
Fingerprint settlement: This one covers people who scanned a finger for tanning at a Palm Beach Tan in Illinois between November 13, 2010 and March 24, 2016. Only people who filed a claim by May 30, 2022 receive the yearly payments.
If you did neither, these two settlements have nothing for you. Neither one covers skin injuries from tanning.
How Much Each Settlement Pays
Fingerprint settlement ($10,300,000): Before claims came in, the notice estimated $700 to $1,400 per person, paid as $175 to $350 a year for four years. The real installment came in at $322.52. Under the agreement, Palm Beach Tan funds each later round with a payment of $2,575,000. If an installment is late, it has a six-month cure period, and interest runs at 9%.
How cases like this one end
Our copy of the federal courts’ own case database covers 8,509 federal civil cases of this typeclosed in U.S. federal district courts between 2015 and 2026, 44.5% of them filed as class actions:
- 31.8% ended in a settlement recorded by the court. Another 45.2% were dismissed voluntarily, which often follows a private settlement — so the real settlement share sits between 31.8% and 77%.
- 1.6% were decided on a motion before any trial.
- 1 in 1,216 reached a trial (0.1%), after a median of 27.8 months.
- Median time from filing to the end of the case: 4.1 months.
- Only 98 of them (1.2%) record a money award at all; the median of those is $40,000.
These are base rates for this type of case (federal telephone consumer protection act cases) — not a prediction about this lawsuit, and not legal advice. Source: Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (civil), analysed by Settlement Insight. Cases heard in state courts are not included.
Palm Beach Tan Lawsuit Timeline
2015 — Illinois Fingerprint Suit Filed
Rottner v. Palm Beach Tan is filed in Cook County, No. 2015-CH-16695. It alleges finger-scanner check-ins violated BIPA.
June 21, 2022 — Fingerprint Settlement Approved
The court holds the final approval hearing on the $10,300,000 settlement. The first $322.52 payment goes out on August 18, 2022.
June 19, 2023 — Text-Message Suit Filed
Hudson v. Palm Beach Tan is filed in the Middle District of North Carolina under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
April 22, 2025 — Ad Agency Added
A second amended complaint names Archer Malmo, Inc. as a defendant alongside Palm Beach Tan.
December 9, 2025 — Settlement in Principle
The plaintiff tells the court the parties have settled in principle. The $2.5 million terms follow in 2026.
October 4, 2026 — Text Claims Close; Hearing December 29, 2026
The claim, opt-out and objection deadlines pass. Final approval is scheduled for December 29, 2026, and no payment date has been set.
Three Things to Watch For
A text-message settlement attracts fake texts. Watch for these three:
A text saying you can “still claim” your Palm Beach Tan money
The claim deadline in the text settlement was October 4, 2026. A message offering a late claim link after that date is not from the court. Never type your card or bank details into a link that arrived by text.
Fake Palm Beach Tan settlement websites
Published case summaries name HudsonClass.com as the text settlement’s website. For the fingerprint case, PBTSettlement.com describes itself as the only authorized site. Look-alike domains asking for a fee or your Social Security number are not legitimate.
Calls about your fingerprint payment
Rottner payments are handled by Kroll Settlement Administration at 1-833-620-3612. If someone calls asking for a fee to release your $322.52, hang up and check by calling that published number yourself.
Palm Beach Tan Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Short answers to the questions people ask most about this case.
Is there a Palm Beach Tan class action lawsuit right now?
Yes. Hudson v. Palm Beach Tan, No. 1:23-cv-00486, is a $2.5 million settlement over texts sent after stop requests. Its claims closed on October 4, 2026, and the court decides on final approval on December 29, 2026. A separate Illinois fingerprint settlement was approved in 2022.
Who qualifies for the Palm Beach Tan text message settlement?
You qualify if Palm Beach Tan sent you a text after your number texted it a stop request, between June 19, 2019 and July 5, 2026. Stop requests include replies like STOP, unsubscribe, cancel, quit, no or a stop sign emoji.
How much will I get per text?
Up to $1,500 per post-stop message, according to published summaries. That is a maximum. Each claimant gets an equal share of the net fund, so the real amount depends on how many valid claims were filed and on the fees the court approves.
Can I still file a claim?
No. The text settlement’s claim deadline was October 4, 2026, and the fingerprint settlement’s was May 30, 2022. Both have passed. If you are a class member in the text case and did not opt out by October 4, 2026, you are bound by the settlement even though you get no payment.
When will the text settlement pay?
Not before final approval. The hearing is set for December 29, 2026, and no payment date has been announced. An appeal would push it back further.
What about the Illinois fingerprint (BIPA) payments?
Rottner v. Palm Beach Tan pays approved claimants in four equal yearly installments of $322.52. The first went out on August 18, 2022, and the later rounds were expected around September 4. Questions about a missing check go to Kroll Settlement Administration at 1-833-620-3612.
How long do class action lawsuits take?
These two show the range. The fingerprint case was filed in 2015, approved in 2022 and then paid out over four years. The text case was filed June 19, 2023, settled in principle on December 9, 2025 and reaches final approval no earlier than December 29, 2026.
Is the Palm Beach Tan settlement notice real?
Real notices point you to the settlement website and never ask for a fee. Published summaries list HudsonClass.com for the text case. PBTSettlement.com, run by Kroll, handles the fingerprint case. If in doubt, type the address yourself instead of clicking the link.
About This Information
- Editorially Reviewed — Content reviewed for accuracy using published legal research, government data, and verified court records. See our methodology. Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
- $236 billion in real payouts analyzed · See what we found
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Lawsuit status, eligibility, and compensation can change. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and does not represent any party. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.
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