Lumber Liquidators Facing Bamboo Flooring Class Action

Lumber Liquidators, Inc. was hit with a false advertising class action lawsuit Monday over its bamboo flooring, alleging that it is prone to cracking, warping and shrinking long before it should begin to have such problems, according to the warranty.

Plaintiff Dana Gold of Lafayette, California had Lumber Liquidators’ Morning Star Bamboo Flooring installed in October 2013.

According to the Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuit, Gold began noticing defects in the product “while the home remained unoccupied.” She noticed that “the product was scratching easily and splintering.”

On Oct. 30, 2013, she called Lumber Liquidators and notified the company of the alleged defects by phone, in which she was advised by the customer service representative to begin the claims process by completing a “General Disclosure Statement,” which she did.

Lumber Liquidators retained Richard King of Inspect Solutions to do an inspection of the bamboo flooring, which he did on Dec. 2, 2013.

“He drafted a report on or about Dec. 6, 2013, in which he concluded plaintiff and the installers were completely at fault and no product defects existed,” Gold explained in her Lumber Liquidators bamboo flooring class action lawsuit.

The California woman claims that Lumber Liquidators advertises the Morning Star Bamboo flooring as “finely crafted,” “free of defects,” “exceptionally durable,” and is able to withstand “pretty much anything you can put it through.”

On the contrary, Gold says that the bamboo flooring is “susceptible to warping, splitting, shrinking and splintering” because it is “defectively designed, tested and manufactured, and will warp, buckle, splinter and unreasonably scratch and dent when used in its intended manner.”

In addition, the bamboo flooring class action lawsuit alleges that “this failure is common in the [bamboo flooring], regardless of when, where or how it is installed.”

The bamboo flooring is sold with a 30-year warranty, but the class action lawsuit alleges that it fails long before it reaches the end of this warranty period.

Because of the alleged defective nature of the flooring it could potentially damage “other building elements, causing continuous and progressive damage to property, and requiring [the class] to expend thousands of dollars to repair or replace the flooring long before the expiration of the ‘useful life'” of the flooring as advertised by Lumber Liquidators.

Gold alleges that Lumber Liquidators knew or should have known that its bamboo flooring was defective, but it “intentionally concealed” this fact from its customers, while it continues to advertise the flooring as “durable, long-lasting, and fit for its intended use.”

When problems are reported, Lumber Liquidators commissions “sham inspections” of the alleged defective flooring, the class action lawsuit claims.

Gold included comments in her class action lawsuit from other Lumber Liquidators customers who purchased the Morning Star Bamboo flooring who also claim that within months of having the flooring installed, it began to show problems such as gaps, shrinkage, buckling, cupping, and scratching, and when Lumber Liquidators was contacted over the problem, it claimed it was not at fault.

The California woman is seeking to represent a nationwide class and a California class of individuals “who own homes and other structures where Morning Star Bamboo Flooring, manufactured and sold by Lumbar Liquidators Inc., is installed, or who paid to replace Morning Star Bamboo flooring products, manufactured and sold by Lumbar Liquidators due to product performance.”

Gold is charging Lumber Liquidators with violating the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, violating the Unfair Competition Law and engaging in unfair business practices.

She is asking for injunctive relief and for Lumber Liquidators to refund all the money plaintiffs paid for the bamboo flooring.

Gold is represented by Jeffrey B. Cereghino, Michael F. Ram, Susan Brown and Matt Malone of Ram Olson Cereghino & Kopczynski LLP, and Beth E. Terrell and Mary B. Reiten of Terrell Marshall Daudt & Willie PLLC.

Attorney information for Lumber Liquidators is not yet available.

The Lumber Liquidators Defective Bamboo Flooring Class Action Lawsuit is Gold v. Lumber Liquidators, Inc., Case No. 4:14-cv-05373, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Oct. 4, 2019, Lumber Liquidators reached a $30 million settlement with customers who claim that the company’s Morning Star Bamboo Flooring is defective.

UPDATE 2: December 2019, the Lumber Liquidators flooring class action settlement website is active. Click here to learn more.

UPDATE 3: January 2020, the Lumber Liquidators flooring class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.