Walmart Class Action Alleges Grocery Pricing Scheme on Weighted Food

UPDATE 2: September 2020, the Walmart weighted goods class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE: On Aug. 7, 2020, Walmart agreed to pay up to $9.5 million and change some of its business practices to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the retailer of using sales prices to overcharge for packaged meat.

Walmart uses “sale” prices to overcharge for their packaged meat products and other weighted goods, according to a class action lawsuit.

The Walmart pricing class action lawsuit states that starting in February 2015, the retailer placed perishable weighted goods close to their expiration date on sale.

These packaged goods were reportedly advertised with a reduced unit sale price, but the final sale price didn’t correspond with the price based on the weight of the product.

For example, in November 2018, Walmart reportedly sold a 1.18 lb. package of chicken tenders at a unit price of $5.78 per pound – reduced from the original price of $6.82 per pound.

As the expiration date of these tenders approached, Walmart reportedly dropped the advertised sale price to $3.77 per pound. At this price, the consumer reportedly should have been charged $4.45. However, the Walmart class action says the final sale price ended up being $5.93, gaining Walmart an additional $1.48 through false advertising.

In another situation, the retailer allegedly sold a 1.36 lb. pack of chicken wings at $3.87 per pound after reducing the original price of $5.26 per pound. Later, as the expiration date approached, Walmart reportedly decreased the price to $1.67 per pound which should have resulted in a price of $2.27. However, the Walmart class action states that the customer was charged $3.52 at checkout – resulting in Walmart collecting an additional $1.25 in profit.

“Consumers are provided with an item’s unit price in addition to its overall price as a tool to help them make informed purchasing decisions,” the Walmart pricing class action lawsuit states. “Walmart’s sale labels and pricing practices were deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable, depriving consumers of the promised value of the weighted goods they purchased.”

Lead plaintiff Vassilios Kukorinis argues that the majority of Walmart’s sales are derived from groceries. Products such as the weighted goods are allegedly tracked in Walmart’s “sophisticated” inventory and pricing system which is used to determine sale prices.

However, the plaintiff says that despite using a detailed system to track prices, Walmart advertises their products using false representations.

Kukorinis argues that Walmart’s pricing scheme violates Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines that prohibit deceptive pricing. The FTC requires price comparisons made by retailers to be “genuine and truthful.”

“Walmart, however, fails to comply with this FTC guideline,” Kukorinis argues. “Instead, Walmart employs deceptive and unfair practices to deceive customers into paying artificially inflated prices for goods that Walmart places on sale. These goods include all Weighted Goods.”

Kukorinis seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased weighted goods (such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish), which had a misrepresented unit sale price not reflected by the final sale price, from a Florida Walmart since Feb. 13, 2015.

He estimates that the proposed pricing Class includes “hundreds of thousands” of Florida Walmart customers.

The Walmart class action lawsuit seeks restitution, disgorgement, actual damages, compensatory damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Kukorinis and the proposed Class are represented by John A. Yanchunis and Ryan McGee of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group.

The Walmart Weighted Goods Class Action Lawsuit is Kukorinis v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 9:19-cv-80221-XXXX, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.