Lumber Liquidators Announces $36M Settlement of Formaldehyde Claims

Lumber Liquidators has agreed to a $36 million settlement resolving claims over both the safety and quality of its Chinese-made laminate wood flooring.

According to the company’s press release, Lumber Liquidators has signed a memorandum of understanding with the plaintiffs in two defective products multidistrict litigations.

The proposed settlement resolves claims that Lumber Liquidators sold Chinese-made flooring with excessive amounts of formaldehyde and that the company’s flooring was not as durable as its promotional materials promised.

The memorandum of understanding represents an agreement in principle. Lumber Liquidators says the details must still be fleshed out in a definitive settlement agreement, which will then have to be approved by plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel, the company’s board, and the court.

Under terms of the proposed Lumber Liquidators class action settlement, Lumber Liquidators will pony up $22 million to be distributed as cash payments to qualifying Class Members. Another $14 million will be distributed as store credit vouchers.

Class Members eligible to claim benefits include persons who purchased Chinese-made laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators between January 2009 and May 2015. One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys estimates that more than 700,000 consumers bought the flooring at issue, but it’s uncertain how many of them will file claims.

The settlement covers more than 100 individual Lumber Liquidators lawsuits consolidated into two multidistrict litigations, or MDLs, in a federal court in Virginia.

This Lumber Liquidators litigation blew up after a March 2015 broadcast of 60 Minutes exposed excessively high levels of formaldehyde found in laminated flooring made in China. Samples of flooring allegedly contained six to seven times the maximum amount of formaldehyde allowed by law in the U.S.

Formaldehyde can cause cancer. Exposure to formaldehyde may lead to immediate symptoms including headaches, nausea, or irritation of the eyes, nose, or throat.

Within days of the 60 Minutes broadcast, enough Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits were filed that some of the plaintiffs moved to consolidate them into a single MDL. A subsequent order by the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated all existing Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits into an MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

A second Lumber Liquidators MDL was established in the same court over allegations that the company’s products were not as durable as advertised. Both MDLs would be resolved by the proposed settlement.

Lumber Liquidators says the proposed settlement does not imply any admission of liability on the company’s part. The company says it discontinued sales of the flooring at issue in May 2015, “out of an abundance of caution.”

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

Plaintiffs in the formaldehyde MDL are represented by attorneys Steven J. Toll of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Nancy Fineman of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP, and Steve W. Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.

The durability MDL plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Alexander Robertson IV of Robertson & Associates LLP and Daniel K. Bryson of Whitfield Bryson & Mason LLP.

The Lumber Liquidators Class Action Lawsuit is Ruiz v. Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc., et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-02745, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Lumber Liquidators Formaldehyde MDL is In re: Lumber Liquidators Chinese-Manufactured Flooring Products Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2627, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia..

The Lumber Liquidators Durability MDL is In re: Lumber Liquidators Chinese-Manufactured Flooring Durability Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 2743, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

UPDATE: On June 15, 2018, a federal judge granted initial approval of a $36 million settlement deal resolving multidistrict litigation over alleged formaldehyde in Lumber Liquidators laminate wood flooring.

UPDATE 2: July 2018, the Lumber Liquidators flooring class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.