Office Depot class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Mary Ann Tolentino filed a class action lawsuit against Office Depot LLC.
- Why: Tolentino claims Office Depot unlawfully spams Washington consumers with commercial emails featuring subject lines that create a false sense of urgency.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was removed to Washington federal court.
A new class action lawsuit alleges Office Depot unlawfully spams consumers in the state of Washington with commercial emails that create a “false sense of urgency” in violation of its Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA).
Plaintiff Mary Ann Tolentino claims the emails feature subject lines that “employ various tactics” to entice consumers into engaging with their marketing efforts “for fear of missing out.” Tolentino argues Office Depot also “floods” consumers’ email inboxes with “repeated false notifications” that the time to act is “short.”
“Through this deceptive time-sensitivity, Office Depot falsely narrows the field — steering consumers away from shopping for better deals — to its own products that must be purchased now,” the Office Depot class action lawsuit says.
Office Depot is a retailer specializing in office supplies, office furniture, printing services and related products. Its merchandise is available on its website and at its retail locations.
Tolentino wants to represent a class of Washington state residents who, within the class period, received a commercial email sent by Office Depot, on behalf of Office Depot, or with Office Depot’s assistance, that contained messaging in the email subject line which misrepresented the facts of a sale, deal or promotion.
Class action alleges Office Depot violates Washington state laws
The Office Depot class action lawsuit claims the company knew or should have known it was sending commercial emails to Washington residents.
The complaint alleges Office Depot may obtain location information tied to email addresses when consumers make purchases through digital platforms, or location information tied to email addresses by tracking the IP addresses of devices, and other means.
Tolentino claims Office Depot is violating Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act, a law enacted by the state legislature in 1998 as direct response to the “burgeoning spam email industry.”
“Among other things, CEMA prohibits transmitting a commercial email with ‘false or misleading information in the subject line’ to the email address of a Washington resident,” the Office Depot class action lawsuit says. In addition to the CEMA, Tolentino argues Office Depot is also in violation of Washington state’s Consumer Protection Act.
The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requests injunctive relief and an award of actual or liquidated damages for herself and all class members.
In 2024, Office Depot faced a lawsuit claiming it violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending unsolicited text messages to numbers registered on the National Do Not Call Registry and failing to honor opt-out requests.
Have you received a commercial email from Office Depot? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Samuel J. Strauss and Raina C. Borrelli of Strauss Borrelli PLLC; Lynn A. Toops, Natalie A. Lyons and Ian R. Bensberg of CohenMalad LLP; and Gerard J. Stranch IV, Michael C. Tackeff and Andrew K. Murray of Stranch, Jennings & Garvey PLLC.
The Office Depot class action lawsuit is Tolentino v. Office Depot LLC, Case No. 2:26-cv-02350, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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