Hat World Class Action Filed over Lids.com Terms & Conditions

Hat World Inc.’s website www.lids.com contains unlawful terms and conditions, according to a class action lawsuit filed May 18 in New Jersey federal court.

Plaintiff Nicole Rando alleges the website terms on www.lids.com contains illegal exculpatory provisions and other conditions that are not allowed under New Jersey’s Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (TCCWNA).

Rando claims she purchased a hat on March 31 from www.lids.com and was forced to agree to the website’s Terms & Conditions in order to make the purchase. However, she says that the Terms and Conditions contain illegal provisions. For example, the website terms purport to absolve Hat World from liability for selling products that are dangerous or defective. The terms also prohibit consumers from seeking remedies in the event they are injured by an unsafe product sold by Hat World.

According to the Hat World class action lawsuit, these types of provisions are not allowed under New Jersey law, which states that companies have a duty of care to consumers to avoid creating an unreasonable risk of harm, and that consumers who are negatively affected by a company’s unreasonable conduct are entitled to seek a legal remedy and damages.

“Given the clear danger of unsafe products as recognized by the New Jersey Legislature, to purport to deny customers a cause of action for harm arising from a potentially unsafe product is contrary to established New Jersey law,” Rando alleges in the Hat World class action lawsuit. “Additionally, there will be a chilling effect if consumers are led to believe such exculpatory provisions are enforceable.”

Rando states that if Hat World is able to continue using the unlawful terms and conditions on the www.lids.com website, consumers will be under the mistaken belief that they are prohibited from seeking a remedy if they are injured by a defective product.

“This would result in a reduction in costs for unscrupulous manufacturers and sellers while companies creating safe products would be burdened with a higher cost of doing business,” the Hat World class action lawsuit alleges. “The ultimate effect would be a proliferation of unsafe products and injured consumers believing they have no grounds for redress.”

Rando asserts that the TCCWNA was implemented to prevent consumers from exactly this type of harm. By filing the Hat World class action lawsuit, she seeks to represent a Class of New Jersey consumers who were exposed to the Terms & Conditions listed at www.lids.com during the applicable statute of limitations.

Rando is seeking an order requiring Hat World to remove the allegedly illegal provisions from the Terms & Conditions, a judgment awarding at least $100 to each Class Member, attorneys’ fees and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

This is not the first class action lawsuit to take issue with the terms and conditions listed on the www.lids.com website. Hat World was hit with a similar class action lawsuit just a few weeks ago by a New Jersey woman who also claims the website terms violate the TCCWNA.

Rando is represented by Gerald H. Clark, Mark W. Morris and Lazaro Berenguer of Clark Law Firm PC and Scott J. Ferrell and Victoria Knowles of the Newport Trial Group.

The www.Lids.com Website Terms Class Action Lawsuit is Nicole Rando v. Hat World Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-02814, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.