E. Mishan & Sons has agreed to settle claims over how its Gotham Steel, Granite Stone and Bell & Howell cookware was marketed. Anyone who bought a covered pan or pot in California or Colorado between September 8, 2021 and July 6, 2026 can claim $6.00 per product, up to two products per household — with no receipt and no notice ID. The deadline is September 25, 2026. The company denies any wrongdoing or liability.
Official resources:
- Official settlement website — Stainless Steel Cookware Settlement — the claim form, the FAQs, the settlement agreement and the long-form notice.
Table of Contents
- What is the cookware settlement about?
- Who qualifies?
- How much can you get?
- What proof do you need?
- What is the deadline?
- How to file a claim
- What happens next?
What is the cookware settlement about?
The parties signed the settlement in late May 2026 and filed it for approval on May 28, 2026. The Riverside County Superior Court took up the request on July 1, 2026 and granted preliminary approval, which opened the claim process, set the class period cutoff at July 6, 2026, and appointed Fidexis Group as settlement administrator.
E. Mishan & Sons denies any wrongdoing or liability. The court has not decided that the company did anything wrong, and under the terms of the agreement the settlement is not an admission that it broke the law. Both sides say they settled to avoid the cost and risk of continuing to litigate.
The settlement also includes non-monetary relief. Within 180 days of the effective date, the company is to disclose on product labels and on the online product page that the products contain iron, chromium and nickel, along with a statement in English and Spanish directing consumers to a web page and a QR code with more information about chemicals in the product. That labeling obligation runs for three years, or until a change in the law permits different labels, whichever comes first.
Who qualifies?
You are a settlement class member if you purchased one or more Gotham Steel, Granite Stone or Bell & Howell brand cookware products with stainless steel components — in any size or variety — other than for resale, in California or Colorado, between September 8, 2021 and July 6, 2026.
The settlement agreement defines the products broadly. It covers all variations and sizes of those brands’ skillets, frying pans, sauté pans, pasta pots, stock pots, saucepans, griddles, grill pans and cookware sets that have stainless steel components.
Two limits are worth reading carefully. First, the class is defined by where the purchase happened, not where you live, so a purchase made outside California or Colorado is not covered. Second, items bought for resale are excluded.
The class also excludes the company’s parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, legal representatives, heirs, successors and assigns and their immediate family; counsel for the parties; the judge presiding over the case and the judge’s immediate family; and anyone who validly and timely opts out.
How much can you get?
A class member who submits a timely, valid claim receives $6.00 per eligible product, capped at two products per household. The most any household can receive is $12.00, and only one claim form may be filed per household.
That figure is fixed rather than pro rata, so it does not shrink if more people file. The settlement does not create a common fund: E. Mishan & Sons pays the valid claims, and it separately pays the settlement administrator’s notice and administration costs, whatever attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses the court awards, and any service awards the court approves for the class representatives, up to $2,500 each. Under the agreement, none of those payments reduce the cash available to class members.
What proof do you need?
None. This is one of the rare settlements where a claimant who never received a notice can still file. The online claim form asks for your name, address, contact information and purchase details — which products you bought, in which state, approximately when, and how many — and you sign an attestation under penalty of perjury that you bought them in California and/or Colorado during the class period. No receipts, packaging or photographs are requested.
The online form does include a notice ID field, but it is labeled optional; the settlement website notes only that if you choose to enter one, it must be valid. The court made the same point when it granted preliminary approval, describing the claims process as one that does not require class members to submit documentary proof of purchase in order to obtain a cash payment.
Two process limits still apply. The administrator may ask for additional information to validate a claim and may reject a claim that is incomplete, unsigned, illegible, untimely or fraudulent. Claims submitted through third-party claim-filing services are rejected outright — you have to file your own.
What is the deadline?
Claim forms must be submitted online or postmarked by September 25, 2026. The official notice gives that date without specifying a timezone, so treat it as a hard date and file early rather than late. The administrator warns that the Postal Service does not always postmark mail the day it is dropped off, which is another reason to file online.
September 25, 2026 is also the deadline to exclude yourself from the settlement or to object to it. Both require a separate signed form submitted online or by mail — you cannot opt out or object by phone or email, and an opt-out request covering more than one person will be treated as invalid.
How to file a claim
File on the official settlement website, Stainless Steel Cookware Settlement. Complete the claimant information section, answer the purchase question, list the products you bought in California or Colorado during the class period, pick a payment method, then type your full name to sign the attestation.
The claim form offers five payment options: PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, a virtual prepaid card, or a physical check mailed to the address on your claim. Keep a copy of what you submit. If your address, name or email changes after you file, the settlement website’s contact page is where to send the update.
What happens next?
The claim window closes September 25, 2026. The court then holds the final approval hearing on November 2, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. in Department 1 in Riverside, where it will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, consider any objections, and rule on the requests for attorneys’ fees and service awards. A hearing being held is not the same as approval being granted, and the notice warns the date can move without further notice.
If the court approves the settlement, payments follow the effective date, which arrives after the deadline for appeals passes and any appeals are resolved. The agreement calls for the administrator to issue payments within 21 days of that date, and physical checks remain valid for 90 days after issue. No payment date has been announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a receipt or the notice I received to file?
No. The claim form asks what you bought, how many, in which state, and roughly when, and you sign an attestation under penalty of perjury. No receipts or photos are requested, and the notice ID field is marked optional, so someone who never received a notice can still file.
Can I claim for more than two pans?
No. The payment is $6.00 per eligible product, capped at two products per household, so the most a household can receive is $12.00. Only one claim form may be submitted per household, and the form asks you to attest that nobody else in your household has already filed.
I bought a Granitestone pan outside California and Colorado. Am I covered?
No. The class is limited to people who purchased the products in California or Colorado, other than for resale, between September 8, 2021 and July 6, 2026. The lawsuit was brought under California and Colorado consumer protection statutes, so purchases in other states are outside the class and outside the release.
Is this the same thing as the Granitestone sauté pan recall?
No. They are separate matters involving the same company. The June 2026 recall covered about 740,000 Granitestone Diamond Pro Blue sauté pans whose handle screw cap could detach when heated, and the remedy there is a refund handled directly by the company. This settlement is a court case about how the cookware was advertised.
How and when would I be paid?
The claim form lets you choose PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, a virtual prepaid card or a mailed check. Payments go out only after the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved. The agreement calls for payments within 21 days of that effective date, and physical checks stay valid for 90 days.
Sources
- Gotham Steel & Granite Stone Cookware Settlement: $12 on OpenClassActions.com — the full settlement breakdown, including the labeling relief and the recall comparison.
- Official settlement website — Stainless Steel Cookware Settlement — FAQs, online claim form, settlement agreement and release, and the long-form notice.
- Riverside County Superior Court public portal — case CVRI2505343 — the settlement agreement and the preliminary approval order.
You Might Also Like
- HexClad $2.5 Million False PFAS-Free Cookware Advertising Class Action Settlement
- What Is a No Proof Class Action Settlement?
- Balance of Nature Dietary Supplement False Advertising Class Action Settlement