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Last month, a California judge gave final approval to a settlement that will affect the way Lowe’s Home Centers LLC advertises its 2x4s and other dimensional materials in California.
The Lowe’s 2×4 labeling lawsuit was filed on behalf of California consumers by District Attorneys from five counties across the state. They alleged Lowe’s “unlawfully advertised structural dimensional building products for sale.” Under the terms of the settlement, the retailer will have to correct any misleading descriptions from its 2x4s and other dimensional materials or remove the noncompliant materials from its shelves.
The lumber measurement lawsuit was filed in response to concerns from local Weights and Measures department representatives who found that the common product measurements did not match up to the actual dimensions of the building materials. For example, 2×4 pieces of lumber did not actually measure 2 inches by 4 inches; instead, they are typically 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches.
The court documents indicate Lowe’s has been ordered to pay nearly $1.5 million in civil penalties and legal costs as well as an additional $150,000 that will be used to fund other consumer protection efforts. Lowe’s will also be required to display actual dimensions next the commonly-used measurements in product descriptions.
“Consumers should expect when making product purchases that retailers are providing accurate information,” Marin County District Attorney Edward S. Berberian said in a statement. “Especially when misinformation could adversely affect building projects that more often than not rely on precise measurements.”
Under the terms of the settlement, Lowe’s will be subject to an injunction prohibiting it from selling 2x4s in less quantity than represented and from labeling the product that misrepresents the product’s actual dimensions. “Common descriptions” must be followed by actual dimensions, and the dimensions must use include abbreviations such as “in.,” “ft.” or “yd.” instead of symbols such as ‘ or “ when providing measurements.
The Lowe’s 2×4 labeling settlement will mean that California customers will not be able to identify the dimensional materials by actual and common dimensions. For example, customers seeking to purchase a piece of lumber often referred to as a 2×4 will see both the common name (2×4) and the actual dimensions (1.5 x 3.5 inches) of the product.
The Lowe’s settlement will affect the in-store signage of nearly 100 Lowe’s stores in California.
The Lowe’s 2×4 Labeling Lawsuit is People of the State of California v. Lowe’s Home Centers LLC, Case No. 1403272, in the Superior Court of California, County of Marin.
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17 thoughts onLowe’s 2×4 Labeling Settlement Gets Final Approval
Oh, and if you don’t think this isn’t going to be passed onto the consumers you’re dumber than they are…
Good looking out Mr DA…
The stupidity behind this is astounding. The current standard has been in place since 1961. I don’t know who’s dumber, the DA for actually bringing this case to trial or the Defense for not winning a case where the actual dimensions have been standardized and well known for over 50 years… As far as it being a safety issue, every architect, every builder, every carpenter, every construction professional knows the difference between actual and nominal dimensions of lumber. It’s just Joe Hack working on weekends without drawings or permits, not working to codes, etc that has a problem and creates a safety issue. It’s Lowe’s fault though…
I’m glad I live as far away from that state as I do… Too bad I’m right next to New Jersey…
Yeah this has to be the biggest load of crap . every home depots, manards, or any lumber yard period should have also been included. But still this is a stupid question. It has always been this way forever and any person working with the materials knows that information anyway. Just greedy crap lawyers that need buried so that this crap doesn’t waste real issues.
I had to replace some 2×4 pieces under my house I bought in 72. It was probably built in 60’s. Guess what the new wood was under sized. So I had to shove other pieces in there to fill in the space.
I am reading a lot of these articles which distort what the suit was about. The issue of the suit is NOT an issue of nominal dimensions – the issue is that the lumber being sold by Lowe’s was SMALLER than the 1.5 x 3.5 standard.
2×4 has been a nominal dimension for as long as I have ever known what one is. I believe it is called this because originally the pieces start out as a roughly 2″ by 4″ piece by a certain length and then after cutting and finishing end up this smaller nominal size. IMO if someone buying wood doesn’t know this then they shouldn’t be building anything that is meant for anything significant.
why not hold all these scaming company lieable because end in the end .as us consumers we are already paying the higher price .when you buy pay for a 2+2 or what ever size you might be buying and the wood . isn’t not the right size .then you have go out buy more to get right size .to make project even .so it don’t look dum lending .inch off or 2 this and that yes you can tell when you build something and it uneven .i guess we all no now why it not straight or don’t look right because for 30 years we been buying and paying over price wood not even right size .so yes they should have to pay for all of it .your right why stop at lowes ,go after rest of the company that are over pricing their wood and not selling right size for double the price .then maybe they will pay better atteniton on what they over pricing and selling .
And you are an idoit. If you didn’t know that framing material actual size dimension was. 1.5 x 1.5 then shouldn’t be building any sort of building structure.
as chris k says this is old news,just a bunch of greety lawyers looking to make their house on the hill mortgage payment.all this does for us consumers is pay higher prices.anyone who works with wood knows this.how has anything been built the last 30 years,would’nt all blue prints be off.lol
This is not news – it has been common practice for at least 30 years. What changed that put Lowe’s in the cross-hairs?
Deep pockets.
It’s been ‘common practice’ for a lot longer than that. 2x4s and other 2x lumber have been a half-inch less than stated dimensions ever since they started planing them down before selling, instead of selling them rough-cut. Used to be you had to do that yourself if you didn’t want to get splinters. In other words, they’re a half-inch less than stated because they did us a favor. This judgement is just monumentally stupid because every place anywhere in the US that you can buy 2x4s they will always be 1.5″x3.5″ because of the reason I just stated.
I found that all lumber if marked wrong. I redid my deck this summer and found out that 4×4’s are actually 3 1/2 x 3 1/2. Plus all other wood used measures different than what is advertised.