J.Crew Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Outlet Store Pricing

A class action lawsuit is challenging J.Crew’s outlet pricing, claiming that the clothing retailer uses deceptive advertising practices to make their sales seem more enticing.

Plaintiff Christina Coffey recently filed the class action lawsuit against J.Crew Group Inc. and several others, alleging that the retailer falsely portrays their sales prices in order to make it seem more attractive to buyers.

Coffey claims that J.Crew offers their products at a “perpetual sale” price, which is the price that the products are always sold at.

In addition to these discounts, J.Crew allegedly uses false price comparisons to make their prices seem better. On their website and in stores, the retailer reportedly lists a “discounted, original price of the product immediately adjacent to the purported discounted/sale price of the product.”

The J.Crew class action lawsuit claims that the original price is not a legitimate former price because the products have never been sold for that amount.

“Defendants willfully engaged in this deceptive and unlawful conduct for the sole purpose of maximizing profits,” Coffey states in her J.Crew class action. “Consumers, like Plaintiff, are deceived into purchasing Defendants’ merchandise because they believe that the purported sale is going to end (and consequently the discounted price will expire), when in reality, Defendants simply replace the sale with another sale, and all of their products continue to be sold at false, discounted prices.”

Coffey claims that the allegedly deceptive sale practices violate several consumer protection laws including the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), the California False Advertising Law (FAL),and the California Unfair Competition Law (UCL).

These state consumer protection laws forbid businesses from deceptively advertising or representing their products for the purposes of increasing profits.

The J.Crew class action lawsuit also accuses J.Crew of intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment.

Coffey claims that J.Crew’s alleged false advertising scheme was an intentional ploy to deceive reasonable consumers and that they profited from their deception at the expense of their customers.

“Defendants should not be allowed to retain the additional and ill-gotten profits generated from the sale of products that were unlawfully marketed, advertised and promoted,” Coffey states in her J.Crew class action lawsuit. “Allowing Defendants to retain these unjust profits would offend traditional notions of justice and fair play and induce companies to misrepresent key characteristics of their products in order to increase sales and at the expense of consumers.”

Coffey seeks to represent a Class of all J.Crew consumers who purchased products from the retailer’s online website or retail store. She also seeks to represent two California subclasses under state-specific consumer protections.

The J.Crew class action lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, restitution, disgorgement, economic damages, monetary damages, actual damages, consequential damages, compensatory damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The plaintiff is represented by Aubry Wand of The Wand Law Firm PC and Benjamin Heikali of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP.

The J.Crew Factory Outlet Pricing Class Action Lawsuit is Coffey v. J.Crew Group Inc., et al., Case No. 2:18-cv-05169, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.