J. Crew Factory Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Fake Sale Practices

J. Crew uses false and misleading advertising, marketing and sales practices to sell merchandise at its J. Crew Factory stores, according to a class action lawsuit filed last week in New York federal court.

Plaintiff Caron Coladonato alleges J. Crew sets an arbitrary “valued at” price for every item offered for sale on its website, which leads consumers to believe it is the regular price of the items. However, this practice is false and misleading because no items are ever sold at the “valued at” price, according to the J. Crew Factory class action lawsuit.

Similarly, the J. Crew defendants purport to hold “sales” on the website that offer every item for sale by a certain percentage.

“For example, during a recent advertised ‘50% OFF EVERYTHING’ sale, Defendants offered a shirt ‘valued at’ $29.50 at a purportedly discounted price of ‘$14.99,’” the J. Crew Factory class action lawsuit states. “This practice is false and misleading because the advertised sale prices do not represent an actual ‘50% OFF’ discount, as the items were never sold or offered for sale at their assigned ‘valued at’ prices.”

Coladonato also notes that the $14.99 price actually only represents a 49 percent discount off the “valued at” price, not a 50 percent discount as advertised.

Further, the J. Crew defendants assert that the advertised online prices are only available for a limited period of time, according to the fake sale class action lawsuit. Coladonato maintains that this practice is misleading because every “sale” is followed by a similar sale that offers similar discounts.

Similar deceptive sales practices are also used at J. Crew Factory retail stores, according to the fake sale class action lawsuit. Coladonato says J. Crew Factory stores similarly list a “valued at” price, but the items are never sold at this price because they are always offered at prices lower than the ticketed price.

She points to a similar “50% OFF EVERYTHING” sale in a J. Crew Factory retail store. “Because the items in Defendants’ retail stores were never offered for sale at their ticketed prices, however, the items were not actually discounted by 50%, and thus the ‘50% OFF’ discounts advertised by Defendants are false and misleading,” the J. Crew class action lawsuit says.

Like the sales promoted on the J. Crew Factory website, the sales at the Factory stores are similarly advertised as only being available for a limited time; however, each sale is followed immediately by a different “sale” that causes the items to be offered for a similar sale price.

Coladonato says that these types of sales are unlawful because the “valued at” prices are fictitious and the items are never sold at these prices. By filing the J. Crew fake sale class action lawsuit, she seeks to represent a Class of U.S. consumers who purchased any items from a J. Crew Factory retail store or the J. Crew Factory website since June 6, 2011. She also seeks to represent a New Jersey subclass.

Coladonato is represented by Ross H. Schmierer of DeNittis Osefchen Prince PC.

The J. Crew Factory Fake Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Caron Coladonato v. J. Crew Group Inc., et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-04287-UA, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.