Hobby Lobby Class Action Lawsuit Challenges ‘Never-Ending’ Sale

Hobby Lobby faces a class action lawsuit alleging that their “never-ending” sales are deceptive and in violation of business laws.

Plaintiff Steven Marcrum recently filed a class action lawsuit against Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. claiming that the craft and décor store advertises their “never-ending” sales in a deceptive fashion.

Marcrum says he experienced this problem when he attempted to purchase a small table from the store.

The table was allegedly priced as “always 30% off” at a price of $83.99. Marcrum brought a coupon which stated that he would get 40 percent off of “one item at regular price only.”

Due to the advertising and signage, Marcrum thought he would get 40 percent off of $83.99 for a final price of $50.39. However, the 40 percent discount was allegedly taken off of a price of $119.99 which never appeared on the table.

The Hobby Lobby sale class action lawsuit claims that Marcrum bought the table for a final price of $71.99, a $21.60 difference from what he believed the sale price should be.

“The above-referenced scheme is not unique to this particular item,” the Hobby Lobby class action states. “Rather, many items are ‘Always’ on sale, but coupon discounts are taken from a price the item never sells at, which is most definitely not the ‘Regular price’ referenced in the coupon.”

Marcrum claims that Hobby Lobby advertises their discounts and “never-ending” sales in a deceptive manner. The store allegedly misleads consumers regarding their merchandise prices and how discounts are calculated.

According to the Hobby Lobby class action, the store “says it takes coupon discounts off of ‘Regular’ prices, but instead it takes them off a price it never sells merchandise at.” Hobby Lobby allegedly takes discounts off of “artificially inflated prices” which are “fictions” created by the store.

The Hobby Lobby fake sale class action claims that the inflated prices come from their “never-ending” sale scheme.

Some items in the store are allegedly displayed as “always” on sale by a certain percent. For example, furniture items are “always 30% off.” However, if a consumer tries to use an additional discount on these items, the discount is taken off of the “regular” inflated price which does not appear on any of the items.

The plaintiff argues that the “never-ending” sale prices should be classified as the “regular” price of the item, since the items are never sold at the inflated price.

Marcrum seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased goods from Hobby Lobby that were marked “always” on sale, but a discount was taken off of a higher price.

He also seeks to represent a similar subclass of Florida consumers who are protected under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The Hobby Lobby class action lawsuit seeks damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The plaintiff is represented by Joshua R. Gale and Brian M. Clark of Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher Goldfarb LLC; Allan L. Armstrong of Armstrong Law Center LLC; and Darrell Cartwright of Cartwright Law Center LLC.

The Hobby Lobby Never-Ending Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Marcrum v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-01388-RV-CJK, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.