Hobby Lobby Misleading Coupon Class Action Survives Dismissal Bid

A class action lawsuit accusing Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. of misleading customers about its coupons has survived dismissal, according to court documents filed last week in Alabama federal court.

The Hobby Lobby class action lawsuit was filed in May by plaintiffs David Phillips and Diane Browning.

Browning claims she decided to purchase a chest of drawers from Hobby Lobby in April 2016.

According to the Hobby Lobby class action lawsuit, the item was marked as “Always 30% Off” and listed a purchase price of $209.99.

When checking out, Browning attempted to use a 40 percent off coupon, but she says she received 40 percent off the “regular” price of $289.99, and paid $173.99 instead of $121.80 which she expected to pay.

Phillips similarly claims that he purchased museum glass from Hobby Lobby that was marked “Always 30% Off” and “was never sold for a price other than $91.00.”

However, Philips alleges that when he attempted to use a 40 percent off coupon, he received “40% off a largely fictional price of $130.00, and paid $78.00.”

The Hobby Lobby class action lawsuit asserts that the retailer deceives customers by applying the coupons to a “regular” sale price that is never used at its stores.

The plaintiffs claim that Hobby Lobby’s failure to take the discount off the “Always” price constitutes a breach of contract.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge John E. Ott denied in part a motion by Hobby Lobby to dismiss the misleading coupon class action lawsuit, but did dismiss some of the plaintiffs’ claims. However, he will allow them 21 days to amend their complaint to address his concerns.

The first concern brought by Judge Ott involves claims brought by the plaintiffs under Oklahoma law. He found that the plaintiffs failed to state in their Hobby Lobby class action lawsuit that they experienced any injury that would be covered by the laws of any state other than Alabama.

The judge rejected Hobby Lobby’s argument that the coupons were appropriately applied to the “regular” price of the merchandise, finding that the plaintiffs had raised an appropriate challenge to the question of what constituted the “regular” price of merchandise that is advertised as “Always 30% Off.”

He found that there has been no evidence presented to suggest Hobby Lobby ever sold the products at a higher price. Therefore, he allowed the claim under Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act to proceed.

Judge Ott also struck down the plaintiffs’ claim for injunctive relief finding that injunctive relief is a type of remedy and not a separate cause of action. He points to case law that holds it is impermissible for a court to issue an injunction simply demanding that a defendant obey the law.

Phillips and Browning are represented by Brian M. Clark of Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher & Goldfarb, LLC; Allan L. Armstrong of the Armstrong Law Center, LLC; and Darrell Cartwright of the Cartwright Law Center.

The Hobby Lobby Misleading Coupon Class Action Lawsuit is David Phillips, et al. v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-00837, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division.

UPDATE: On Sept. 28, 2018, the consumers in a class action lawsuit alleging false advertising once again overcame Hobby Lobby’s motion to dismiss the action.