A federal judge has certified a class action lawsuit against Hubble Contacts. The October 15 ruling in Africa v. Vision Path Inc., filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, covers qualifying California residents who purchased Hubble Classic Daily lens subscriptions beginning April 25, 2019, without having been prescribed those lenses. The court records identified more than 95,543 California purchasers during the relevant period, although not all of them qualify for the class.

The lawsuit alleges that Hubble substituted its own brand of lenses for prescribed products and used improper prescription-verification practices. Class certification is simply procedural but does not establish that Hubble violated the law. Hubble has disputed the allegations and stated that it intends to defend the case.

This lawsuit is separate from a 2022 settlement in which Hubble agreed to pay $3.5 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges involving contact lens prescription substitution, verification practices, and deceptive consumer reviews. The settlement included $1.5 million in civil penalties and $2 million in consumer redress.

The developments come as the FTC is seeking public comment on extending the information-collection requirements of its Contact Lens Rule for another 3 years. The October 14 notice addresses prescription release, verification, and recordkeeping requirements. It does not propose substantive changes to the rule.