Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Lumber Liquidators has agreed to a $36 million settlement resolving claims over both the safety and quality of its Chinese-made laminate wood flooring.
According to the company’s press release, Lumber Liquidators has signed a memorandum of understanding with the plaintiffs in two defective products multidistrict litigations.
The proposed settlement resolves claims that Lumber Liquidators sold Chinese-made flooring with excessive amounts of formaldehyde and that the company’s flooring was not as durable as its promotional materials promised.
The memorandum of understanding represents an agreement in principle. Lumber Liquidators says the details must still be fleshed out in a definitive settlement agreement, which will then have to be approved by plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel, the company’s board, and the court.
Under terms of the proposed Lumber Liquidators class action settlement, Lumber Liquidators will pony up $22 million to be distributed as cash payments to qualifying Class Members. Another $14 million will be distributed as store credit vouchers.
Class Members eligible to claim benefits include persons who purchased Chinese-made laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators between January 2009 and May 2015. One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys estimates that more than 700,000 consumers bought the flooring at issue, but it’s uncertain how many of them will file claims.
The settlement covers more than 100 individual Lumber Liquidators lawsuits consolidated into two multidistrict litigations, or MDLs, in a federal court in Virginia.
This Lumber Liquidators litigation blew up after a March 2015 broadcast of 60 Minutes exposed excessively high levels of formaldehyde found in laminated flooring made in China. Samples of flooring allegedly contained six to seven times the maximum amount of formaldehyde allowed by law in the U.S.
Formaldehyde can cause cancer. Exposure to formaldehyde may lead to immediate symptoms including headaches, nausea, or irritation of the eyes, nose, or throat.
Within days of the 60 Minutes broadcast, enough Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits were filed that some of the plaintiffs moved to consolidate them into a single MDL. A subsequent order by the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated all existing Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits into an MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A second Lumber Liquidators MDL was established in the same court over allegations that the company’s products were not as durable as advertised. Both MDLs would be resolved by the proposed settlement.
Lumber Liquidators says the proposed settlement does not imply any admission of liability on the company’s part. The company says it discontinued sales of the flooring at issue in May 2015, “out of an abundance of caution.”
Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.
Plaintiffs in the formaldehyde MDL are represented by attorneys Steven J. Toll of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Nancy Fineman of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP, and Steve W. Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.
The durability MDL plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Alexander Robertson IV of Robertson & Associates LLP and Daniel K. Bryson of Whitfield Bryson & Mason LLP.
The Lumber Liquidators Class Action Lawsuit is Ruiz v. Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc., et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-02745, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The Lumber Liquidators Formaldehyde MDL is In re: Lumber Liquidators Chinese-Manufactured Flooring Products Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2627, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia..
The Lumber Liquidators Durability MDL is In re: Lumber Liquidators Chinese-Manufactured Flooring Durability Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 2743, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
UPDATE: On June 15, 2018, a federal judge granted initial approval of a $36 million settlement deal resolving multidistrict litigation over alleged formaldehyde in Lumber Liquidators laminate wood flooring.
UPDATE 2: July 2018, the Lumber Liquidators flooring class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
82 thoughts onLumber Liquidators Announces $36M Settlement of Formaldehyde Claims
Add me we completed our basement floor with Lumber liquidation laminate wood flooring.
Please include me in on this. I had this same thing installed in my house in the living room. It started turning black and bowing as if it had been soaked with water where it was joined on every piece. Not to mention, I stayed sick with bronchitis and sinus infections for approximately 9 months to a year before I had it replaced. No problems since I had it replaced with flooring from another high-end retail flooring company. Along with the replacement and being sick, it has costed me thousands of dollars.
wow. i need to check this from my fllor @swiftunlock
http://www.swiftunlock.com
Let me in on this, I purchased living room flooring from Lumber Liquidators so I would like to be a part of this lawsuit.
Yes I did purchase Lumber liquidation floor s and tiles for my kitchen and bedroom, living room floors. I would like to be part of this lawsuit.
Put Lumber Liquidators floor down in Kitchen.
Count Me In as I was a customer as well.
Same for me. We have this product in our home too. Please contact me
Let me in on this we had laminated flooring put in from these people. I have asthma but it became so severe that I had to be admitted into the hospital and almost intubated during this time.
Ya have installed this product in most of all 22 rentals of my employers properties,had replaced a lot of it,no good.
I’ve got every room in my house lined with this product from lumber liquidation and the paneling isn’t holding up so I would like to be part of this law suit