A proposed $2.5 million class action settlement may provide cash payments to certain people who received Palm Beach Tan marketing texts after asking the sender to stop. The court-authorized notice says claim forms must be filed online or postmarked by October 4, 2026.
The lawsuit is Hudson v. Palm Beach Tan, Inc. & Archer Malmo, Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-00486-WO-JEP, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The court has authorized notice of the proposed settlement, but it has not decided that either defendant broke the law. Palm Beach Tan and Archer Malmo deny wrongdoing and liability.
Key facts
- Settlement fund: $2.5 million before approved deductions.
- Who may be included: people sent a Palm Beach Tan marketing text after the same phone number sent a stop request during the class period.
- Class period: June 19, 2019 through July 5, 2026.
- Claim deadline: October 4, 2026.
- Exclusion and objection deadline: October 4, 2026.
- Final approval hearing: December 29, 2026.
- Payment: a proportional, or pro rata, share based on qualifying post-stop messages, capped at $1,500 per post-stop message under the notice; the actual amount is not yet known.
The class is tied to a stop request Receiving a Palm Beach Tan text during the class period is not enough by itself. The court-authorized definition requires a Palm Beach Tan marketing text sent after that same phone number submitted a stop request.
What are Palm Beach Tan and Archer Malmo?
Palm Beach Tan operates tanning salons and markets tanning services and related products to consumers. The filed complaint describes the company as a large U.S. indoor-tanning chain and alleges that the texts at issue advertised salon offers and products.
Archer Malmo is also named as a defendant in the proposed settlement. The court-authorized notice refers to Palm Beach Tan and Archer Malmo together as the defendants responsible for the challenged messaging program. The notice does not require a claimant to decide which company sent or managed a particular message; eligibility is governed by the class definition, the phone-number records, and the administrator’s review.
The named plaintiff is Alex Hudson. A named plaintiff, sometimes called a class representative, brings a proposed class action on behalf of a larger group alleged to have experienced similar conduct. If the settlement receives final approval, the court’s judgment and release will generally bind class members who do not exclude themselves.
What does the lawsuit allege?
The plaintiff alleges that Palm Beach Tan and Archer Malmo sent more than one telemarketing text promoting Palm Beach Tan products or services after recipients asked the messages to stop. The complaint invokes the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, commonly called the TCPA, a federal law that regulates certain calls and text messages.
The court-authorized notice says the plaintiff claims the defendants violated the TCPA by sending advertising texts to a residential cellular telephone number after a stop request. The FTC’s telemarketing-rule overview separately explains that federal telemarketing rules restrict calls to consumers who have asked not to be contacted again. The precise TCPA claims in this case are controlled by the filed complaint, court orders, and settlement papers—not by a general agency summary.
Palm Beach Tan and Archer Malmo dispute the allegations. According to the notice, they deny that the challenged messages qualify as telemarketing or telephone solicitations under the TCPA and its regulations, deny that a litigation class could be certified, and deny violating the law. A settlement resolves disputed claims without a trial and is not an admission of wrongdoing.
The allegations remain disputed The court has not ruled that the defendants violated the TCPA. The proposed settlement avoids continued litigation while preserving the defendants’ denials.
Who may qualify for the Palm Beach Tan settlement?
The court has conditionally approved a settlement class defined as all people who, during the class period, were sent a Palm Beach Tan text message after that phone number sent an inbound stop request.
The notice defines a Palm Beach Tan text message as one alleged in the lawsuit to have marketed or advertised goods or services provided by Palm Beach Tan. The class period runs from June 19, 2019 through July 5, 2026.
That definition creates several practical limits:
- The message must concern Palm Beach Tan goods or services as described in the settlement materials.
- The same phone number must previously have sent a stop request.
- At least one later qualifying message must have been sent during the class period.
- The settlement administrator must accept the claim as valid and timely.
A notice, claim ID, PIN, or matching phone record may help the administrator identify a class member, but receiving a notice does not guarantee payment. People who are unsure should use the contact information on the official Hudson settlement website rather than guessing about their status.
How much could class members receive?
The proposed settlement creates a $2.5 million gross fund. Before payments are calculated, the fund may be reduced by court-approved attorneys’ fees and expenses, settlement-administration costs, and any approved incentive award for the class representative.
The remainder will be distributed among valid claimants. The notice says each approved claimant is entitled to an equal amount for each qualifying post-stop message, up to $1,500 per message. That figure is a cap, not a promised payout.
The actual payment depends on how much remains after approved deductions, how many valid claims are filed, and how many qualifying messages are attributed to those claims. “Pro rata” means the available money is divided proportionally under the settlement formula rather than paid as a guaranteed flat amount.
The notice also says leftover settlement money or uncashed benefit checks will go to a charitable organization under the settlement terms rather than reverting to the defendants.
No fixed payment has been announced The notice allows up to $1,500 for each qualifying post-stop message, but actual checks may be lower. Claims volume, message counts, approved deductions, and the administrator’s decisions will determine the final amount.
How to file a claim
The court-authorized notice says a claim is the only way to seek a cash payment from the settlement fund. Claims may be submitted online through HudsonClass.com or by mailing the official claim form to the settlement administrator.
Online claims must be filed, and mailed claims must be postmarked, no later than October 4, 2026. Claimants should use the official settlement website and form because those materials contain the current identification, certification, and submission requirements.
The notice lists the administrator’s mailing address as:
Hudson v. Palm Beach Tan, Inc. & Archer Malmo, Inc. Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 301172
Los Angeles, CA 90030-1172
Submitting a form does not guarantee that it will be approved. The administrator will determine whether the claim is valid, timely, and supported by settlement records.
Claim deadline Online claims must be submitted and mailed claims must be postmarked by October 4, 2026. Use the official settlement site for any updated instructions.
What are the other options and deadlines?
Class members who do not want to be bound by the settlement may ask to be excluded, also called opting out. The exclusion request must meet the notice’s requirements and be postmarked by October 4, 2026. A person who validly excludes themselves will not receive settlement money but generally keeps the right to pursue their own lawsuit over the released claims, subject to applicable law and deadlines.
Class members who remain in the settlement may object to its terms. Objections must comply with the court-authorized notice and be filed and served by October 4, 2026. Objecting is different from opting out: an objector remains part of the class while asking the court to reject or change the settlement.
Doing nothing means a class member will not receive a payment. If the settlement becomes final, a class member who did not opt out will still be bound by the judgment and release described in the settlement agreement.
What happens next?
The court scheduled a final approval hearing for December 29, 2026 at the federal courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina. At that hearing, the judge will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, along with requests for attorneys’ fees, expenses, and an incentive award.
The hearing date may change. Class members are not required to attend to receive a benefit, but they should check the official website for updates.
Payments cannot be finalized until the court grants final approval and any appeals or other conditions are resolved. The timing of checks therefore remains uncertain.
This article provides general information, not legal advice. The official settlement website, court-authorized notice, claim form, settlement agreement, and court docket contain the controlling terms.