Petco, PetSmart & Chewy Flea & Tick Settlement (Elanco $9.275M) — $10 per Purchase

Elanco Antitrust · Preliminary Approval Granted

Current Status

The court granted preliminary approval on September 17, 2026. The order certifies a nationwide settlement class, appoints Angeion Group as Settlement Administrator, and sets the schedule: notice to class members and the official settlement website are due by January 8, 2027, and the deadline to file a claim, opt out or object is February 25, 2027. The claim form is not available yet; it opens with the settlement website, and a claim will be required to get paid. The final approval hearing is set for April 1, 2027, and nobody is paid before the court grants final approval.

What Changed?

When OCA first covered this case in May, the settlement existed only as reported deals with each defendant. It now has a court order. On May 11, 2026 the plaintiffs filed the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release and moved for preliminary approval; the parties amended the agreement on August 27, 2026; and on September 17, 2026 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted the unopposed motion in the consolidated cases Spradlin v. Elanco Animal Health, Inc., No. 1:24-cv-01299, and Kraus-Silfen v. Elanco Animal Health, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-00168.

The order confirms the $9,275,000 total and how it splits: Elanco pays $6,750,000, Petco and PetSmart $700,000 each, Chewy $600,000, PetMed Express $275,000 and Petsense $250,000. It also replaces the guesswork the earlier version of this article had to do. The class period, the payment formula, the no-receipt option and every deadline are now set by the court, and the sections below reflect the order rather than estimates.

Elanco and the retailers deny the allegations. The court has not decided who is right, and the settlement is not an admission of liability.

Who Qualifies?

The Settlement Class is all persons in the United States who, from January 1, 2016 through September 17, 2026 (the date of the preliminary approval order), bought an Imidacloprid Product sold in the United States from a Pet Specialty Retailer. In plain terms:

• The products are Elanco’s topical, squeeze-on flea and tick treatments for dogs and cats with imidacloprid as the active ingredient — the Advantix line the order describes, sold as K9 Advantix II and Advantage II. The settlement agreement’s definition of “Imidacloprid Product” controls, and the long-form notice will list the covered products.

• The retailers are the five named defendants: Chewy, Petco, PetSmart, PetMed Express and Petsense. Petsense is the Tractor Supply subsidiary the court names; whether a purchase at a Tractor Supply–branded store counts turns on the agreement’s definition of Pet Specialty Retailer, which the notice should spell out. Purchases from other stores, Amazon or a veterinarian are not purchases from a Pet Specialty Retailer.

• Online and in-store purchases both count; the order does not limit the class to either.

• Dogs and cats are both covered. K9 Advantix II is for dogs; Advantage II comes in dog and cat versions.

Excluded are the defendants and released parties and their officers, directors, employees, controlled entities and affiliates; government entities; Co-Lead Settlement Class Counsel; the judges on the case, their law clerks and their immediate families; and anyone who opts out. Plaintiffs told the court the class covers purchases of about 13.1 million units.

How Much Can You Get?

The settlement pays $10.00 for each qualifying purchase, with two tracks:

• Without proof of purchase: $10 per purchase, capped at $20 per pet and $40 per household.

• With valid proof of purchase: $10 per purchase, with no cap.