Two would-be home improvers have lodged a class action lawsuit alleging that Behr Paint & Primer is falsely advertised as only needing one coat without primer.
Lead plaintiffs Levi Gurkov and Wendy Kates say they were willing to pay a premium price for the paint because they believed marketing claims that they wouldn’t have to shell out for the base coat, called primer, often required to adequately cover walls.
“However, Defendant’s advertising and marketing campaign is false, deceptive, and misleading because the Products do not work as represented; they do not adequately cover and adhere to the surface without first separately applying primer, and they do not cover the surface in one coat,” alleges the Behr Paint & Primer class action lawsuit.
Gurvok, a resident of New York, says he decided to purchase Behr Paint & Primer based on representations that the product was “Paint and Primer in One.”
Similarly, Kates, a resident of New Jersey, says she purchased the paint because of advertising that she would not need to also purchase a primer.
“Had Plaintiff Kates known the truth—that the representations she relied upon in making her purchases were false, misleading, and deceptive— she would not have purchased the Products or would not have purchased them at a premium price,” alleges the Behr paint class action lawsuit.
According to the Behr class action, the following products are falsely advertised; Behr Premium Plus (including all finishes: flat, satin, eggshell, semi-gloss, and hi-gloss); Behr Premium Plus Ultra (including all finishes: flat, hi-gloss, semi-gloss, satin, eggshell, and matte); and Behr Marquee (including all finishes: flat, semi-gloss, satin, eggshell, and matte).
The Behr Paint & Primer class action lawsuit alleges that the paint was touted as “saving the purchaser the additional cost, time and effort of going through the process of priming the surface before painting it.”
“Because this marketing claim was false, Plaintiffs and Class members were forced to incur additional money, time and effort in order to achieve a properly painted surface,” contends the Behr primer class action lawsuit.
“In addition, Plaintiffs and Class Members paid a premium for the Products over and above comparable products that did not make the ‘Primer and Paint in One’ claim.”
According to the Behr class action lawsuit, a coating of primer is necessary to apply paint to bare wood, metal, or plaster. A coat of primer must be applied and allowed to dry before the surface can be painted.
Behr represents to consumers that their “Paint and Primer in One” will allow consumers to skip a step, alleges the Behr class action lawsuit. However, independent testing showed poor results, say the plaintiffs.
“The testing revealed that one coat of the Product, applied according to Defendant’s recommendations, did not properly adhere to either surface and showed significant bleed through after approximately one week of aging,” contends the Behr paint class action.
The Behr class action lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased Behr Paint & Primer In One, along with a New York and New Jersey subclass.
The class action lawsuit is seeking damages for alleged violations of New Jersey and New York consumer protection laws, as well as for breach of warranty and fraud.
The plaintiffs are also seeking a court order stopping Behr from falsely advertising its paint.
The consumers are represented by Jason P. Sultzer and Adam Gonnelli of The Sultzer Law Group PC, and David Pastor of Pastor Law Office LLP.
The Behr Paint & Primer Class Action Lawsuit is Gurkov, et al. v. Behr Process Corporation, Case No. 2:19-cv-01383-JS-GRB, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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534 thoughts onBehr Class Action Says Paint & Primer In One Doesn’t Work as Advertised
same here spent the extra money to not have to prime and I still had to purchase primer on top of the fact i purchased there top of the line behr marquee if I would of knew that I would of went to sherwin Williams at least there paint works as advertised
Please add me! Very similar, however I did purchase their primer, the $60 gallon marque paint and everything was recommended from home Depot employee. This paint is garbage, doesn’t stick and now it’s costing me triple of my time/labor because have to strip this worthless paint from walls and ceiling, buy more supplies, re-prep everything and go through the paint process again but with Sherwin Williams paint! As you know it takes a few days at least to properly paint a room start to finish and I’m going to get my money back one way or another from this fraudulent company and bogus claims they make of their paint.
Please add me ‘ I am so very disappointed in Behr Marquee paint! Had to paint 3 costs on everything ! It drags and dries so fast. It’s a nightmare to work with! Not at all quality profuct! Want my money back!
I bought Behr Premium Plus Ultra for a professional to repaint my house based on the review it received in Consumer Reports. Big mistake. Although the exterior paint is holding up well the interior semi gloss trim paint is garbage. After 3 years of curing you can still scrape it off with a fingernail!
How do I join this lawsuit?
Jeanne Androsiglio
The painters for our construction company were purchasing those Behr 1 coat paint.
Jeanne Androsiglio
The painters for our construction company were purchasing those Behr 1 coat paint.
I just had my home renovated and my contractor purchased the BEHR all-in-one primer and my walls have streaks and bleed through. He claims that he applied two coats, but it still shows streaks. He refuses to purchase another paint.
Hi, I know this post is old but people are still viewing it so I will give my opinion. You are correct Behr paint did the exact same thing to me. When I poured it into the bucket, it was so thick I was thinking this will definitely cover in one shot. To my surprise I can see right through the walls. It was the Behr premium with primer. I was going over it putting a lot of paint but it was still bleeding through and drying fast. This is just a guess but they must have taken something out of it and exchanged it for less of a bad smell. Maybe if it still smelled bad it would have covered better. I originally had off-white eggshell and painted over it with something called torch red which is a really nice color and it still didn’t cover it. I will never buy Behr Paint again
We just had a new roof put on plus completely rebuilt out front porch with all new wood. It’s a 10×40 and all new shiplap and rafters etc etc. I thought it would be a good idea to pre paint all the lumber prior to them doing the construction. Got talked in to the Behr Primer & Paint semi gloss and painted every board TWICE in my garage. After the porch was done I had quite a bit of repair and touch ups to do, so much that i just painted another coat of white on everything with a small brush and tiny roller. Couple weeks later I start seeing these brown spots bleeding through. & months later I have bleed through EVERYWHERE!!!! Last time I read the paint can it says this will SEAL any painted or UN PAINTED WOOD. I can’t believe I now have to paint the whole porch again. off a ladder. This sucks.
Generally, water based paints or primers will not stop tannin bleed through. Tannic acid is water soluble and will bleed through water based paints and primers. Tannins are present in most evergreen source woods i.e. pine, fir, cedar etc.. Traditionally, an oil based primer is necessary to stop this. The instructions on the back of the Behr can clearly state this.