Lumber Liquidators Class Action Filed in Calif. Federal Court

Lumber Liquidators is facing false advertising class action lawsuits on multiple fronts. This last December a Californian woman filed a false advertising lawsuit against Lumber Liquidators in federal court in a California, alleging that its bamboo flooring is defective.

The Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuit was amended in February to include several other plaintiffs from other states, including West Virginia, Illinois, and New York. This class action lawsuit alleges that Lumber Liquidators’ Morning Star Bamboo flooring, is prone to crack and split just months after installation.

According to the Lumber Liquidators lawsuit, the Morning Star Bamboo flooring was falsely advertised as long lasting and harder than the red oak and traditional bamboo flooring. Lumbar Liquidators also claimed the floor was manufactured to “withstand the rigors of everyday life,” and “hold up well to pretty much anything.”

However, customers allege that the flooring is easily scratched, warped, buckles and splits, and often comes loose. Hundreds of false advertising class action lawsuits have been made filed concerning the bamboo flooring, which cost thousands of dollars.

When customers attempted to contact Lumber Liquidators’ customer service they were given the go around, the class action lawsuits claim. Customers who complained allege that they were bounced around to various services representatives who usually tried to shift the blame to everyone but the company. Complaining customers were offered either inadequate refunds or were told the issues they were experiencing were their fault or the fault of the installers.

The false advertising class action lawsuit claims that Lumbar Liquidators violated consumer protection laws, by concealing from consumers material facts regarding the products. Plaintiffs filing the class action lawsuit against the laminate flooring company hope to recover the expenses they paid for the faulty flooring and the costs required to replace the laminate.

Lumber Liquidators Formaldehyde Class Action Lawsuits

This Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuit was filed just weeks before CBS News’ “60 Minutes” exposed problems with flooring Lumber Liquidators imported from China. According to the news segment, the laminate flooring that Lumber Liquidators imported from China was found to contain toxic levels of formaldehyde.

Global Community Monitor, a nonprofit group that investigated the Lumber Liquidators flooring, tested flooring samples from stores all over California. The nonprofit group found that while flooring manufactured within the United States contained formaldehyde levels within legal and safe limits, products imported from China did not.

In fact, some samples from China contained formaldehyde levels 20 times greater than the legal limits in the United States. This is unfortunate for consumers who spent thousands of dollars installing the defective flooring.

Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong-smelling gas. It is often used in building materials, mixed with wood glues to make products like furniture, cabinets, and flooring. Persons exposed to formaldehyde may experience symptoms such as sore throat, cough, itchy eyes, and nosebleeds.

Symptoms also include upper respiratory illnesses. In an attempt to protect California residents, the Golden State implemented strict standards to regulate formaldehyde levels allowed in manufactured products.

Congress later followed suit in 2010, by passing the Formaldehyde Standards Act, which implements California’s standards for the entire country. These standards will be enacted later this year.

UPDATE: Several Lumber Liquidators class action lawsuits were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), or mass tort, and transferred to a Virginia federal court by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), alleging that the flooring company sold wood floors containing toxic levels of formaldehyde.

Join a Free Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators, you may have a legal claim. Join a free class action lawsuit investigation to see if you qualify.

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