Lumber Liquidators Bombarded with Class Action Lawsuits in La.

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Lumber Liquidators Inc. has reportedly been hit with a dozen class action lawsuits in Louisiana this month which allege the national hardwood company sold Chinese-made laminate flooring that contains dangerous levels of formaldehyde.

One law firm filed at least three Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits on March 2. The plaintiffs all allege that they purchased Chinese-made wood flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators that fails to comply with applicable formaldehyde standards.

Formaldehyde has been categorized as a known carcinogen by the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, according to the Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits. Formaldehyde is often used in the adhesives and resins used to make laminate flooring, and it can be released into the air from the wood flooring materials.

According to the Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits, it is possible to manufacture pressed wood products with low, or no, added formaldehyde. However, these products take longer to make and are associated with higher production costs. In 2010, the Formaldehyde Standards Act was signed into law, establishing a nationwide standard for formaldehyde emissions. The standards are based on those established by the California Air Resources Board.

The plaintiffs assert that the Chinese flooring products sold by Lumber Liquidators emit toxic formaldehyde at levels that are “multiple times the maximum permissible limits set by those standards at the time of purchase.” These formaldehyde emissions contradict Lumber Liquidators’ representations on its product labels, website and elsewhere that its flooring complies with strict formaldehyde standards.

“Lumber Liquidators’ marketing materials, including the Company’s website, specifically represent to consumers that the Company’s Chinese Flooring products comply with the formaldehyde emission regulations propounded by California Air Resources Board (‘CARB’) and indeed comply with even stricter European Union (‘EU’) formaldehyde standards,” the Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits state.

According to the Chinese flooring class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs suffered financial harm because the flooring they purchased was not worth the price they paid due to the elevated level of formaldehyde. They claim that they would have paid significantly less—or not purchased the product at all—had they known the products contained higher levels of formaldehyde than allowed under federal law.

The Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits assert claims for breach of express and implied warranty, violation of state Consumer Protection and Deceptive Practices acts, and redhibition arising from the alleged scheme to import and sell the Chinese flooring products.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of consumers in Louisiana who purchased and installed laminate wood flooring from Lumber Liquidators that was sourced, processed or manufactured in China.

The plaintiffs are represented by Kevin Klibert, Salvadore Christina Jr., and Matthew B. Moreland of Becnel Law Firm LLC.

The Lumber Liquidators Formaldehyde Class Action Lawsuits are Kathy T. Jones, et al. v. Lumber Liquidators Inc., Case No. 6:16-cv-00286, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana; Theresa DeVillier, et al. v. Lumber Liquidators Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-00139, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana; and Benjamin Turner v. Lumber Liquidators Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-00140, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.

UPDATE: Several Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), or mass tort, and transferred to a Virginia federal court by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), alleging that the flooring company sold wood floors containing toxic levels of formaldehyde.

UPDATE 2: On Oct. 24, 2017, Lumber Liquidators agreed to a $36 million settlement resolving claims over both the safety and quality of its Chinese-made laminate wood flooring.