Adidas class action claims ‘authentic’ NHL fan jerseys not identical to players’

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Adidas class action overview: 

• Who: An NHL fan jersey consumer is suing Adidas.
• Why: The plaintiff says Adidas misleads consumers into thinking they are buying the same quality of jersey that the NHL players wear, when they are not.
• Where: The Adidas class action was filed in a Michigan federal court.

Adidas misleads NHL fans into thinking they are buying “authentic” NHL jerseys—identical to those worn by NHL players—when the quality is significantly lesser, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Brent Charette filed the class action lawsuit against Adidas America Inc. on Jan. 14 in a Michigan federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

According to the lawsuit, Adidas makes and sells National Hockey League (NHL) jerseys represented as “authentic” under the Adidas brand.

Consumers purchasing NHL jerseys marketed as “authentic” will expect they are purchasing jerseys identical to those worn on the ice by NHL players, Charette says.

However, despite the representations as “authentic,” the jerseys are not those worn on-ice by NHL players, he alleges.

“The jerseys have more in common with what is commonly described as ‘replica’ or even counterfeit authentic jerseys than those worn by players on the ice during games,” the lawsuit states.

NHL fans were purposefully misled by Adidas, lawsuit alleges

Adidas ordered third-party stores and websites such as fanatics.com to market the jerseys as “authentic” by labeling them with names such as “Home Authentic Primegreen Jersey” and “Authentic Pro Player Jersey,” the lawsuit states.

However, the fabric used in the jerseys is half the thickness of that worn by actual players, the fight strap is a different quality, the stitching is lower quality in the fan jersey, the neck hole is larger, and the product is made in Indonesia instead of Canada, where the player jerseys are made.

As a result, customers are being misled to believe the products are the same jerseys as those worn by actual players on the ice, and are paying a premium for the jerseys, the lawsuit states.

The plaintiff seeks to represent a class of Michigan consumers who bought an “authentic” Adidas NHL jersey, plus a consumer fraud multi-state class of consumers from Utah, South Dakota, Kansas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alaska, Hawaii and South Carolina. 

Charette is suing for violation of state consumer laws, breach of warranty, negligence, misrepresentation, fraud, and unjust enrichment and is seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and jury trial.

In February last year, NHL fans hit Adidas with another class action lawsuit alleging it makes cheap imitations of NHL jerseys that are nothing like what the actual players wear.

Did you buy an “authentic” NHL jersey from Adidas? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associate P.C. 

The Adidas class action lawsuit is Brent Charette et al., v. Adidas America Inc., Case No. 2:23-cv-10114-SDK-CI in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. 

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