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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
We are disheartened that our three year old sofa and chairs from Ashley, advertised as 100% leather, are peeling. Certainly falsely advertised. We also purchased the same sofa and loveseat for a vacation home we own. All in all, our furniture cost over $4000 and we are angry now, to find out a few years later that what Ashley furniture advertised as 100% leather is not!
I purchased a couch and loveseat from Ashley. The first week, the color was coming off of the couch. I paid for an extended warranty. They came and recovered the back of th sofa. It continued to peel and the seat cushions sink to the bottom of the couch. The leather is all cracked and peeling. They sent a furniture repair man out from Rochester. They told me $500 to restuff the cushions. I will never buy from them again. I am on social security. The set cost me over $3k. I cannot afford to replace it.
On 4/02/18 my husband and I visited an Ashley Home Store in Kingsport, TN. We told the salesman that we wanted real leather so it would last us and we were told “this is what you want”, we also bought extra insurance $250, to cover anything just in case. When we noticed it was peeling it was 5/19 so I notified the company we purchased extra insurance from because it was 1 month past the yearly manufactures warranty After sending pictures and waiting on a reply we were told that insurance only covers accidents and this was considered a manufacture issue. When showing the manufacturer pictures Nd speaking with them we were told they could order stuff to cover it up but we would be responsible for the cost of material and labor for someone to repair it. We were blessed enough to have $3,000 to spend at the time but living on fixed income we can’t afford to repair it so now we just have to use it as is. This is so disheartening but I will never buy from them again
We purchased a sofa, loveseat and recliner November 2016 and now have peeling all over the seat of the loveseat.
I have 2 couches and 2 chairs. All peeling.
I’m having the same problem with my couch , I was told it was leather . 3 years later the coating is flaking off in areas we sit the most
Having the same problems peeling and cracking after just 2 years. Purchased an additional warranty that still won’t cover the wear and tare. We are still paying on couches that are pretty much garbage at this point.
We are having the same issue with what was advertised as a leather sofa. It looks horrible, we are in Arizona and would like to be involved in a class-action suit against Ashley’s. How do we do that?
Spent $4,000 on a “leather” L-shaped sofa with wedge and reclining seats. All head cushions are peeling back exposing all the interior foam. The sofa is less than 3 years old. Ashley Furniture will not repair or refund. Horrible experience.
I had also bought an L shaped “leather” reclining sectional that has peeled off on almost every cushion. Spent almost $4000. It makes me sick they won’t do a single thing about their falsely advertised expensive fake leather furniture. Just trying to find fabric now to cover the mess it makes daily on my livingroom floor. I always tell people never buy Ashley now. Spread the word.
Same experience! I have a barely used occasional chair that is just a couple of years old. The seat cushion is cracking and peeling. It is absolutely junk!