Dog owners in California may be eligible to claim from $25 up to $150 from a class action settlement over joint supplements for dogs.

The settlement, which received preliminary approval in a federal court in California, stems from allegations that Nutramax Laboratories misrepresented the benefits and effectiveness of certain Cosequin-branded canine joint supplements in their advertising and packaging.

Nutramax, a South Carolina-based maker of supplements for both people and pets, denied any wrongdoing but agreed to pay $11.5 million to resolve the claims and avoid further litigation.

Under the settlement terms, California residents who purchased any of seven listed Cosequin dog supplements between May 3, 2016, and May 6, 2022, may be eligible to file a claim. To qualify, consumers must have lived in California at the time of purchase and bought the product for their dog, not for resale.

Class members may submit claims for up to six products, with payments capped at $25 per product, or $150 total. The actual amount each claimant receives, however, may vary depending on the total number of valid claims submitted.

To receive a payment, eligible class members can file a claim through the court-approved settlement website or print and mail a claim form to the settlement administrator.

Claimants must provide the address where they lived at the time of purchase, along with the number of products for which they are seeking reimbursement. Supporting documentation is not required with the initial claim, though the settlement administrator may later ask for proof.

The deadline to file a claim is July 21, 2026. Those wishing to opt out of the settlement must do so by June 22, 2026. A final approval hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2026.

As part of the settlement, Nutramax also agreed to retire three statements from future product packaging: “mobility, cartilage and joint health support,” “supports mobility for a healthy lifestyle,” and “use Cosequin to help your pet climb stairs, rise and jump!”

The case was filed in 2019. In their complaint, plaintiffs argued that those challenged statements were false and misleading because, they said, Cosequin does not improve joint function and mobility in dogs. They pointed to what they described as the only two peer-reviewed, double-blinded, randomized controlled trials on the product’s efficacy, both of which they said found that Cosequin performed no better than a placebo.

Nutramax, for its part, presented contrary evidence, including non-randomized controlled trials and testimony from its own veterinarian. The company also argued that the two studies cited by plaintiffs involved dogs with osteoarthritis, even though Cosequin is not marketed as a treatment for that condition.

The case was later appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where Nutramax challenged the class certification. The company argued that the plaintiffs relied on a proposed—but not yet applied—methodology for calculating classwide damages that could make the results vulnerable to bias. It also argued that some class members might have considered information beyond the product packaging, such as recommendations from veterinarians, when deciding to buy the supplements.

A three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit rejected both arguments, however, and upheld the lower court’s decision granting class certification to California dog owners who bought Cosequin supplements.

Cosequin contains glucosamine and chondroitin as active ingredients. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, both compounds occur naturally in the human body and help support the tissue that cushions joints. They are widely used, either separately or together, in supplements marketed for arthritis relief.