Menards Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Lumber Dimensions

Menards was hit with a class action lawsuit accusing the home hardware store of falsely advertising its dimensional lumber products.

Lead plaintiffs Michael Fuchs and Vladislav Krasilnikov allege in their class action lawsuit that Menards markets its lumber at certain sizes, but the products don’t actually meet those advertised specifications.

In the complaint, Fuchs alleges that while completing a home improvement project, he picked up supplies from a local Menards store in Gurnee, Ill., including what he thought were several 1″ x 6″ – 6′ cedar planks and a 4″ x 4″ – 10′ piece of Douglas Fir.

However, Fuchs says he discovered that the lumber was smaller than the dimensions listed on the labels of the products. Krasilnikov alleged a similar experience with a white wood plank purchased at Menards.

Menards “operates a large number of home improvement stores throughout the Midwest region, including throughout Illinois,” say the plaintiffs.

According to the complaint “dimensional lumber products” are used in construction and home improvement projects which are commonly sold by reference to three dimensions; length, width, and height, and are some of the most popular products at Menards. A common example is the “two-by-four.”

According to the class action complaint, Menards “regularly advertised for sale dimensional lumber products through in-store shelf tags and signage, labels, and flyers, which contained inaccurate and false product dimensions that did not correspond to the actual dimensions of the products being advertised.”

As a result, the plaintiffs say they “purchased dimensional lumber products from [Menards] that were not of the same size and quantity as represented.”

The class action alleges that Menards’ “dimensional lumber products all have materially smaller dimensions than those represented in its advertisements and product labeling. For example, pieces of ‘Douglas Fir’ wood that are labeled as having the dimensions ‘4 x 4 – 10′ ‘, actually measure 3.5″ x 3.5″ – 10′, approximately 23% smaller than advertised. Further, the most commonly used 2″ x 4″ – 8′ framing lumber actually measures 1.5″ x 3.5″ – 8′.”

The plaintiffs also contend that Menards does not include any disclaimer or informs consumers that their lumber products don’t meet the specifications included on the advertising.

According to the Menards class action the lawsuit, the plaintiffs would not have purchased lumber from Menards had they known it was smaller than the dimensions listed in the advertising. The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased dimensional lumber at Menards, along with a subclass of Illinois residents who purchased lumber within the past three years.

The plaintiffs allege that they “and the other members of the Class have been damaged by their purchases of Defendant’s dimensional lumber products and have been deceived into purchasing a product that they believed had the same dimensions as represented by Defendant, when in fact it was significantly smaller. Defendant has received significant profits from its false marketing and sale of its dimensional lumber products.”

Menards violates state consumer protection laws, say the plaintiffs, as well as express and implied warranties. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and for Menards to disgorge all funds obtained through the alleged false marketing, along with an injunction and attorneys’ fees and costs.

The plaintiffs are represented by Myles McGuire, Evan M. Meyers, and Eugene Y. Turin of McGuire Law PC.

The Menards Lumber Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Fuchs, et. al. v. Menard Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-01752, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.