Sears Class Action Lawsuit Says 14K Gold Jewelry is Gold-Plated

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Last week, Sears Holdings Corporation was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it deceives consumers by labeling and marketing jewelry as “14K Gold” when the jewelry is actually a much less valuable non-gold metal that is covered or plated with a layer of gold alloy.

Plaintiff Maxine Moss, who allegedly purchased a “14K Gold” necklace from Sears says the company’s sale of the necklace is “part of a uniform company-wide deceptive marketing practice it employs wherein it labels similarly gold-plated or gold-covered jewelry as gold.”

The Sears jewelry class action lawsuit points to guidelines set by the Federal Trade Commission for the labeling of gold jewelry. The FTC guidelines note that it is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent qualities and character of the jewelry. The agency specifically says that it is “unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the presence of gold or gold alloy in an industry product, or the quality or karat fineness of gold or gold alloy contained in the product.”

Products that are surface-plated or coated with gold alloy may be described with the word “Gold” as long as it is adequately qualified to indicate the product or part is only surface-plated.

Moss says she purchased a necklace labeled as “14K GOLD” from a New York Sears store on Dec. 26, 2016. According to the Sears class action lawsuit, the necklace was originally priced at $2,299.99, but Moss bought the necklace “on sale” at a price of $574.99. She paid an additional $56.99 for an extended service plan for the necklace.

About a month after the purchase, Moss says the necklace showed signs of tarnish and discoloration. She complained to Sears that she believed the necklace was not actually 14 karat gold.

According to the Sears gold jewelry class action lawsuit, Moss was told that under Sears’ policy, the necklace could not be tested because doing so could destroy the jewelry.

Moss filed the Sears class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and a proposed Class of consumers who purchased jewelry from Sears that included documentation at the time of sale that used the word “Gold” or its abbreviation without qualification to describe all or part of the jewelry, and which jewelry item was surface-plated, bonded or coated with gold or gold alloy.

Moss also seeks to represent a subclass of New York residents.

The Sears gold jewelry class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, and a claim under New York law for unfair or deceptive business practices.

Moss is seeking refunds for the allegedly falsely advertised jewelry, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief deemed just and proper by the court.

Moss is represented by Sergei Lemberg of Lemberg Law LLC.

The Sears Gold-Plated Jewelry Class Action Lawsuit is Maxine Moss v. Sears Holdings Corporation, Case No. 2:18-cv-01663, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.