Judge Rejects Milli Vanilli Refund Plan

The New York Times

Chicago -- August 12, 1991 -- A judge on Monday rejected a proposed settlement of a lawsuit against Arista Records over the lip-synching duo Milli Vanilli, calling it unfair because consumers would have to make additional purchases to get a refund.

The Los Angeles-based record company had offered a $3 refund on future purchases to anyone who had bought a Milli Vanilli compact disk, $2 for a tape or record, or $1 for a single. Arista said the settlement would have cost it $25 million or more.

Judge Thomas O'Brien of the Cook County Circuit Court set another hearing date for Sept. 11 to give the parties time to work out a new settlement.

At least 26 lawsuits have been filed claiming Arista defrauded consumers by implying that Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan sang on the best-selling album "Girl You Know It's True." Mr. Pilatus and Mr. Morvan admitted last year that they did nothing more than dance, lip-synch and pose for pictures. The Chicago lawsuit was the first to reach a possible settlement, and could have applied to anyone who had bought 1 of the more than 10 million copies of the album.