Lumber Liquidators Will Pay $30M To Settle Flooring Class Action

Lumber Liquidators has reached a proposed $30 million settlement with customers who claim that the company’s Morning Star Bamboo Flooring is defective.

If approved, the Lumber Liquidators settlement would benefit all customers in the U.S. and U.S. territories who purchased Morning Star Bamboo Flooring between Jan. 1, 2012 and March 15, 2019.

The proposed settlement would require Lumber Liquidators to pay $14 million in cash and $14 million in store credit vouchers to affected customers.

Reportedly, customers will be able to choose between cash and store credit vouchers and an additional $2 million could be added to the $14 million in credit if the number of voucher claims requires the addition. The customers explain that they assume that around 10 to 20 percent of the 300,000 Class Members will file claims for benefits.

Class representatives are asking for $7,500 each for their role in the Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuit, and lawyers are asking for 33 percent of the total settlement amount — around $10 million, in addition to almost another $1 million to cover expenses.

The plaintiffs who filed the Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuit note that the settlement deal was reached after arm’s-length negotiation, with the help of mediators. According to the plaintiffs, the settlement came after both the customers and the company “completed complex and substantial discovery.”

Allegedly, the customers made extensive requests for documentation from the company, and conducted witness depositions and inspections of Lumber Liquidators’ warranty claim submissions, with the help of the company.

The customers went on to say that the Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuit was set to go to trial shortly, after it had been litigated for more than four years.

Dana Gold, Tammy Emery, Mary Louise Ference, Laura Norris, Donald Fursman and John Triana were previously granted Class certification for their Lumber Liquidators flooring defect class action lawsuit, but it was limited to residents in California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The plaintiffs are now asking the court to approve a nationwide Class who purchased the defective flooring.

The customers filed their Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuit in December 2014, over allegations that Morning Star Bamboo Flooring was “unable to withstand normal variations in a home’s ambient moisture,” which caused the floor to gap, shrink, splinter, warp, and buckle.

Allegedly, one customers experienced her flooring cracking and splintering significantly very soon after it was installed. She says the home was unoccupied at the time, so the problem could not have been caused by her use of the floor. 

Have you purchased flooring that you worry may be defective? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

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The customers are represented by Jeffrey B. Cereghino of Cereghino Law Group, Michael F. Ram of Robins Kaplan and Charles J. LaDuca, Brendan Thompson and Ralph Michael Smith of Cuneo Gilbert. The class is also represented by Beth E. Terrell and Jennifer Rust Murray of Terrell Marshall Law Group, Jordan L. Chaikin of Chaikin Law Firm PLLC, Daniel C. Calvert of Parker Waichman LLP, Michael McShane and Jonas P. Mann of Audet & Partners LLP, Robert K. Shelquist and Rebecca A. Peterson of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP, Charles E. Schaffer of Levin Fishbein Sedran & Berman and Erica C. Mirabella of Mirabella Law LLC.

The Lumber Liquidators Defective Bamboo Flooring Class Action Lawsuit is Gold v. Lumber Liquidators Inc., Case No. 3:14-cv-05373, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: December 2019, the Lumber Liquidators flooring class action settlement website is active. Click here to learn more.

UPDATE 2: January 2020, the Lumber Liquidators flooring class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

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