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A California class action lawsuit accuses Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. and Ashley Homestores Ltd. of false advertising and fraud. The complaint alleges that Ashley Furniture sells “DuraBlend” furniture without disclosing that it is not made of actual leather.
In addition, the class action claims that the DuraBlend faux leather coating does not stand up to normal wear and tear, and instead easily peels off, revealing a rough, off-white layer underneath.
The class action states that in 2008, Ashley Furniture started using what it called a “blended leather upholstery,” and branded as its DuraBlend upholstery, on some of its furniture. The complaint alleges that “blended” leather is another term for “bonded” leather, which is a “man-made material that incorporates leather scraps and fiber and mimics the appearance of leather.”
Low-quality bonded leather “may suffer flaking of the surface material in as little as a few years,” and the Federal Trade Commissioner recommends that sellers of bonded leather items disclose the percentage of leather the upholstery contains, according to materials cited by the complaint.
The Ashley Furniture DuraBlend class action lawsuit accuses Ashley Furniture of intentionally misleading consumers by calling its DuraBlend upholstery “blended leather” and by making it have as close an appearance to true leather as possible. The complaint states that Ashley Furniture violated California consumer protection and warranty laws by not disclosing the true nature of its upholstery to customers, and by not disclosing the actual percentage of leather in its DuraBlend upholstery, “as required by law.”
Plaintiff Nicholas Razo states that in October of 2013 he spent $2,000 on a sofa and loveseat with DuraBlend upholstery, believing it to be leather furniture. Razo claims that in January of 2014 he discovered that the DuraBlend upholstery “was peeling, causing pieces and particles of the top “leather”-like layer to come off and exposing the underlying material, which was coarse in texture and off-white in color.” Razo states that he contacted both the store and the manufacturer, Ashley Furniture, and they have not corrected the problem.
Similarly, plaintiff Kathleen Koehn states that in April of 2013 she purchased a brown sectional sofa made with DuraBlend upholstery for $650. Koehn claims that the store represented that the sofa was made from “bonded leather,” and she thought it was leather furniture. However, Koehn asserts that in 2014 she discovered the same peeling issue, and within two years the fake leather surface had almost peeled off entirely. Koehn claims that she contacted the store for a refund, and the “salesman declined to provide a refund and told her there was nothing he could do, as this type of furniture was not ‘designed to last’ as much as two years.”
The Ashely Furniture DuraBlend lawsuit seeks to represent a Class of all persons who purchased furniture with DuraBlend upholstery from Ashley Furniture in California on or after Dec. 22, 2011. The class action requests restitution and punitive damages under California consumer protection laws, as well as a court order to stop Ashley Furniture from making false advertisements of its DuraBlend upholstery.
Razo and Koehn are represented by Mike Arias and Mikael H. Stahle of Arias Sanguinetti Stahle & Torrijos LLP.
The Ashley Furniture DuraBlend Class Action Lawsuit is Nicholas Razo, et al., v. Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-2911, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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305 thoughts onAshley Furniture Class Action Says ‘Leather’ Falsely Advertised
I had a two piece, it peeled so bad, I emailed Ashley but that didn’t do any good.
I had two pieces, and it peeled so bad. I had to get new furniture. I emailed them but it do any good.
I cant believe it! I too purchased 2 sofas at $700 each and a $500 loveseat from Ashley at their Cherry Hill NJ store. I was told by the salesperson that the material was called durablend. When I asked what was durablend, he told me that it was a process of mixing leather and vinyl to make a product that was mostly leather but had the strength of a vinyl product. My furniture is also peeling. When I first purchased them they were very pretty but now they are looking bad.
I just purchased a sofa with durablend.I began to have problems immediately.I contacted the Ashley and was referred to the manufactor,nothing was ever done.I still have this peeling sofa.
I purchased a leather sofa and loveseat from Ashley in 02/2012 in Athens Ga. I’m not sure if it’s Duro-blend or not and if so, I don’t want to miss my opportunity to file a claim. How would I know if the seat I bought was one included?
shoul be under the cushions durablend
Thank you for letting us know. I have tried numerous times to get satisfaction on this issue. The love seat was completely ruined as it peeled away in strips and the coach has also started to peel off as well. So disappointed as I had to get rid of love seat and now the coach. Please update.
I absolutely would like to stay in contact about this!!
I would like up dates had to get rid of couch because of peeling!!!
I too am looking for updates. My reclining set is peeling, cracking, and coming off all over the place! Ive never see anything like it. It was my understanding that it was leather as well! And I purchased it in November of 2013 and it wasnt cheap..
We have purchased Ashley furniture for many years but I have never been more disappointed as I am with the Dura-Blend sofa and chairs we purchased! Please notify me on information for the class action suit if there is going to be anything published in the near future, thank you.
My sectional set that I purchased from Ashley Furniture is also just about completely peeled off, I was told it was a softer leather. I loved it for about a year. I even bought the extended warranty and was told that it was “normal wear” after about 2 years. I am very disappointed I will never buy anything from that company again!