Macy’s, TJ Maxx, Ross Class Action Challenges Bed Sheet Thread Counts

A group of plaintiffs say bed sheets sold at several U.S. retailers including Macy’s, TJ Maxx and Ross are deceptively labeled with false thread counts.

Plaintiffs Paulette Kremmel, Angela Barnes, Jamie Kilgore, Travis Garner, Dominique Morrison and Amy Hill all claim that sheets made by defendant Creative Textiles Mills Pvt. Ltd. are falsely labeled with higher thread counts than they actually have.

Defendant AQ Textiles LLC imports these sheets from Creative Textiles’ facilities in India, according to the plaintiffs. The sheets are then distributed for retail sale at TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Ross, Macy’s and Belk stores.

The plaintiffs accuse Creative Textiles of relying on a particular fabric manufacturing process to justify its false thread counts. They claim Creative Textiles “twists individual yarns together, then uses the twisted combination as if it was a single yarn in the weaving process.”

“Instead of counting the twisted combination as one yarn, Creative Textiles then counts each individual yarn in the twisted combination when advertising the thread counts of the Products in order to increase the represented thread count and appeal to customers,” the plaintiffs claim.

Higher thread counts mean higher quality, the plaintiffs say. Fabric with a higher thread count makes for a softer, more comfortable sheet. So a sheet set with a higher thread count can command a higher price, they claim.

But by falsely overstating these sheets’ thread counts, the plaintiffs say, the defendants are deceiving consumers into paying too much for a product that’s worth less than they’re led to believe.

The sheets that plaintiffs are taking issue with are labeled with indicators like “800TC” and “1200TC,” they claim. Plaintiffs allege they reasonably understood these indicators to be representations of the sheet’s actual thread counts.

According to the plaintiffs, the sheets made by Creative Textiles end up being sold in the U.S. under a multitude of different brands. Sheet brand names at issue in this false thread counts class action lawsuit include but aren’t limited to:

• Bentley Home
• Hampton House
• Home Essential Collection
• Ultra Lux
• Main Street Linens
• Prescott Fine Linens
• Somerset Collection
• Belfast Collection
• Highland Collection
• Fairfield Square
• Legacy Home Collection
• Grande Estate Fine Linens
• Kensington Manor

Sheet sets at issue are labeled with thread counts from 600 to 1200, according to the class action.

The plaintiffs are proposing a nationwide Class and three state Classes from each of their home states of Illinois, Florida and Missouri. Each Class would represent all persons who purchased any of the products at issue for their own personal, household or family purposes during the five years preceding the filing of this action.

They are asking the court for an injunction that would bar the defendants from continuing their allegedly unlawful merchandising practices. They also seek an award of compensatory and punitive damages, disgorgement of related revenues, court costs and attorneys’ fees, all with pre- and post-judgment interest.

Counsel for the plaintiffs are attorneys Matthew H. Armstrong of Armstrong Law Firm LLC and Stuart L. Cochran, R. Dean Gresham, Bruce W. Steckler and L. Kirstine Rogers of Steckler Gresham Cochran PLLC.

The Macy’s, TJ Maxx, Ross False Thread Counts Class Action Lawsuit is Paulette Kremmel, et al. v. AQ Textiles Inc., et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-00147, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.