Courtney Jorstad  |  July 27, 2015

Category: Consumer News

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duanereadelogoverticalDuane Reade Inc. and its parent company Walgreen Co. were hit with a class action lawsuit, alleging that it overcharges for prepackaged foods.

Plaintiffs Joseph Bassolino and Aissa Khirani filed their Duane Reade class action lawsuit in a New York federal court on July 22. It is similar to a class action lawsuit filed against Whole Foods Market Inc. in June.

Bassolino and Khirani say that Duane Reade has violated New York business and common law by misrepresenting the price of prepackaged food products such as sandwiches, salads and yogurts it sells in its drug stores.

Duane Reade “routinely charged customers that purchased certain perishable pre-packaged products that were weighted — including sandwiches, salads and yogurts based upon a false, inflated weight — resulting in customers being overcharged,” the Duane Reade class action lawsuit says.

For example, the plaintiffs claim that they purchased a Gluten-Free Turkey Mustard Sandwich that cost $6.99 and the price tag on the shelf said that it weighed 9 ounces and that it cost 77.7 cents per ounce.

However, the plaintiffs say that the label on the sandwich itself said that it actually weighed 6.5 ounces.

“Instead of being charged $5.05 for a 6.5 ounce sandwich (6.5 x 77.7 cents per ounce) as they should, consistent with the case tag price, they are charged $6.99; and overcharged of 27.78 percent or $1.94 per sandwich,” Bassolino and Kharini explain in their class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs claim that this is one-of-22 examples of products that have been mislabeled at its stores and overcharges its customers.

They allege that other products that are also mislabeled include its Reduced Fat Cranberry Tuna on Multigrain Bread, Fresh Roasted Turkey and Cheese Wrap, and Strawberry Yogurt with Granola.

“Duane Reade inaccurately labeled its products by listing a weight that was heavier than the actual weight of the product sold and purchased by plaintiffs and the proposed class,” the overpriced food class action lawsuit says.

“According to the plaintiffs’ investigation to date, the amount overcharged to customers ranged from $.40 to $1.94 per package sold,” it adds.

The plaintiffs claim in their Duane Reade class action lawsuit that the drugstore chain is violating two counts of New York general business law, New York executive law, unjust enrichment, and breach of contract.

Bassolino and Kharini are looking to represent a class of individuals who have purchased merchandise at Duane Reade stores in New York over the last three years.

Bassolino filed a class action lawsuit against Whole Foods in June making similar claims, which also said that the grocery store also overcharged for pre-packaged food. That class action lawsuit came after the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs had reported on the alleged practice.

Whole Foods executives apologized for the discovery, saying that the prices were inflated because of “misweighing errors,” but they said it was not intentional.

The plaintiffs are represented by Marie Napoli of Napoli Law PLLC and Brittany Weiner and Steven Fingerhut of Imbesi Law PC.

Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.

The Duane Reade False Pricing Class Action Lawsuit is Joseph Bassolino et al. v. Duane Reade Inc. et al., Case No. was unavailable, in New York Supreme Court, County of Bronx.

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