Visionworks Can’t Escape BOGO Class Action Lawsuit

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A federal judge recently denied Visionworks’ bid to dismiss a class action against them which alleges that the company’s BOGO deal violates Federal Trade Commission rules.

U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara stated in his ruling that plaintiff Jennifer Mora’s allegations that Visionworks’ “Buy One, Get One” deal is misleading and violates rules set by the FTC was strong enough to continue.

“The court is more than satisfied that those factual allegations are more than sufficient to allow the court to draw the reasonable inference that defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged in both counts of the amended complaint,” Judge Lazzara wrote in his ruling.

Judge Lazzara stated that Mora’s “extremely detailed factual allegations” were strong enough to move forward with the suit and that any further concerns must be saved for after the discovery phase. “Any concerns about plaintiff’s ability to sustain her claims successfully against defendant are more appropriately raised within the context of a motion for summary judgement after the completion of full discovery,” he wrote.

Mora filed the Visionworks class action after allegedly discovering that the company marked up the price of their glasses, meaning that the “Buy One, Get One” deal didn’t actually save consumers money. The first set of glasses were supposedly marked up by 40 percent. Mora claims that since a consumer has to pay more for the first set of glasses, even though they get the second “free,” the deal cannot be reasonably called a “Buy One, Get One” promotion.

Visionworks attempted to fight the BOGO class action lawsuit by arguing that two of the claims were duplicative and Mora had not made sufficient allegations to support her case. Visionworks filed their dismissal bid on April 17 and argued that Mora failed to claim actual damages sustained by her purchases.

The company also claimed that Mora failed to establish facts supporting her allegation that Visionworks fraudulently up-marked the price of their eyeglasses. Since Mora purchased two pairs of glasses for a total of $610, even though they were worth $666, she still saved money, Visionworks stated.

The eyeglasses retailer also attempted to fight Mora’s unjust enrichment claim, arguing that she had an adequate remedy for her claim under the Florida state consumer law. Visionworks said that the unjust enrichment claim was duplicative and unnecessary.

In 2017, Visionworks settled a similar class action regarding their allegedly deceptive “Buy One, Get One” promotion. The company agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle the suit, although they denied any wrongdoing.

Mora seeks to represent a Class of Floridians who purchased glasses from Visionworks during the retailer’s “Buy One, Get One” promotion during the last four years.

Mora is represented by Brian W. Warwick and Janet R. Varnell of Varnell & Warwick PA, Drew Legando, Jack Landskroner and Tom Merriman of Landskroner Grieco Merriman LLC, and Mark Schlachet of the Law Offices of Mark Schlachet.

The Visionworks BOGO Class Action Lawsuit is Mora v. Visionworks of America Inc., Case No. 8:18-cv-00335, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.