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A class action lawsuit is taking on furniture retailer Ashley Furniture over claims that its DuraBlend upholstery fails to hold up under ordinary use.
Plaintiff Sladjana Perisic of Florida is accusing Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. of violating Florida consumer protection laws with its DuraBlend upholstery, a hybrid of synthetic and natural materials made to mimic the appearance of leather.
She says Ashley Furniture “falsely, deceptively or misleadingly promoted, marketed, advertised, and sold furniture with DuraBlend” as if it were a high-quality, durable product. But in fact, she claims, DuraBlend upholstery starts to peel and fall apart soon after being exposed to normal wear and tear.
According to this Ashley Furniture class action lawsuit, DuraBlend is marketed as “blended leather,” which Perisic says is synonymous with “bonded leather.” Bonded leather consists of scraps of animal hide adhered together and covered with layers of polish and other materials to give it the appearance of a single piece of leather.
Perisic quotes an article on the subject from Consumer Affairs that says “the true difference between bonded and genuine leather is its durability,” a detail that many retailers allegedly fail to mention to their customers.
The plaintiff says that in August 2013 she purchased a DuraBlend-upholstered sofa, loveseat and recliner from an Ashley Furniture store in Pinellas Park, Fla., at a cost of about $1,700. She says the promotional material for that furniture said its DuraBlend upholstery was “as durable as leather.”
But by early 2016, she claims, the upholstery had started “bubbling and peeling.” The top leather-like layer on the cushions and arm rests allegedly began to peel away, exposing the coarse, off-white material underneath.
Perisic says she made a claim under the furniture protection plan she had purchased from the Guardsman company. Guardsman denied that claim, stating that the damage to her furniture was a manufacturing defect, the class action lawsuit states.
The plaintiff says she paid a premium to Ashley Furniture based on its representations that DuraBlend upholstery was as durable as leather. Had she known that DuraBlend would fail to hold up under ordinary use, Perisic says she either would not have purchased it or would have been willing to pay significantly less for it.
Perisic proposes to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of all persons who purchased furniture with DuraBlend upholstery from Ashley Furniture in the State of Florida. She expects Class Members will number in the thousands.
She is seeking an order from the court that would require Ashley Furniture to conform its marketing of DuraBlend upholstery to applicable legal requirements. She also seeks an award of actual, incidental, statutory and punitive damages and reimbursement of her attorney’s fees and court costs, with interest.
Perisic is represented by Julie Braman Kane and Stephanie A. Casey of Colson Hicks Eidson PA, and by Mike Arias and Mikael H. Stahle of Arias Sanguinetti Stahle & Torrijos LLP.
The Ashley Furniture DuraBlend Defective Product Class Action Lawsuit is Sladjana Perisic v. Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., Case No. 8:16-cv-03255, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
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228 thoughts onAshley Furniture Class Action Says DuraBlend Upholstery Falls Apart
I had the same problem I paid 4,200 they claimed it was Italian leather but after 7 months it started peeling and bubbling
I also purchased a sofa, loveseat & recliner for around $2000. After only 2 years I had to purchase more because of the bubbling and peeling. Put the recliner in dump and sofa just sitting shop unable to give away or use.
We had the same problem with recliners purchased from Ashley Furniture here in the Seattle, Washington area!!!!!! What a disappointment, and never will be buy another item with this so-called durable material!!!! Nor from Ashley Furniture again!!!
Purchased sofa, loveseat and recliner in 2012. No kids or pets..just the 2 of us. Material peeling and bubbling. Sent in pictures and serial numbers in a complaint letter to Ashley and have heard nothing back. Would like be included in any class action suit from Minnesota.
Same here I ended up pulling the stuff off and covering the furniture . Ohio I don’t have money to throw away.
Same issue in SC…..bought a sofa and love seat in 2011….2013 tried to get it fixed with extended warranty and they acknowledged the problem…..put in the claim and haven’t heard from them since. paid over $2000 for the set and 249 for extended warranty and 100 for delivery and set up. Won’t buy this stuff again. I think this suit should go nation wide.
I bought my Ashley Klick-Klack couch from a retailer in my small Texas town. I kept mine covered to protect it from my animals. When I took the cover off I found an area that was beginning to peel and 2 places where it had come apart at the seams. My extended warranty company also said it was not covered even though the salesman told me it would cover anything that happened to the couch. I am not happy at all!!
I had purchased a complete living room set from Ashley in about 2000. In 2014 I needed to replace that set. Went to Ashley since the other set was so good, the new set lasted about one and a half years. Looked awful. I have had to replace it in 2016. This time I went with Best furniture. They have a much better warranty. I had Best before when I lived in Illinois. In fact after 3 yrs. when we sold our house the family bought it completely furnished. They did not realize the set was so old (the Best Furniture). Never again with Ashley. We lived in Florida now and I had blamed the weather on the condition of the Ashley furniture. Guess I was wrong about that.
Same here with our sectional!
We bought a loveseat made of DuraBlend from Ashley furniture. After about a year and a half, it started doing the bubbling and peeling just like they described above. I called Ashley and they replaced it a few days later. They delivered a brand new one and hauled the old one away. That was about 2 years ago. This new one has held up much better.