Walmart must face ‘deceptive pricing’ class action lawsuit

Update: 

• The 7th Circuit reversed a district court’s decision to toss a class action lawsuit filed against Walmart over claims it used false and misleading shelf pricing. 
• The appeals court disagreed with the theory that providing customers with a receipt with the actual price was sufficient to dispel any potential deception or unfairness caused by an inaccurate shelf price. 
• The court did agree with Walmart that the complaint did not allege a plausible likelihood of future injury needed for injunctive relief under the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. 
• The plaintiff claims Walmart customers paid around 5-10% more than they expected due to allegedly false and misleading shelf price advertising. 

Target, Walmart shelf pricing class action lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Yoram Kahn filed separate class action lawsuits against Walmart, Inc. and Target Corporation. 
• Why: Khan claims Walmart and Target use false and misleading shelf pricing which misrepresents the amount a consumer will actually have to pay for the merchandise at checkout. 
• Where: The class action lawsuits were filed in Illinois federal court.

(Aug. 11, 2022)

See Walmart and Target place false and misleading advertisements on price displays and shelf signs, a pair of new class action lawsuits allege.

Plaintiff Yoram Kahn claims in separate class action lawsuits that Walmart and Target use what is known as shelf pricing that “frequently misrepresents the prices consumers are charged at the point of sale.” 

Kahn argues Walmart and Target’s alleged price misrepresentations cause consumers to “fall victim to a classic ‘bait and switch,’” and “unknowingly overpay” Walmart and Target “a higher price for the falsely-advertised merchandise at checkout.” 

“Consumers reasonably rely on Shelf Pricing to make informed purchasing decisions, and reasonably expect to pay the advertised Shelf Price when they reach the checkout,” states the Walmart class action and Target class action. 

Kahn wants to represent a nationwide Class and Illinois subclass of consumers who have purchased merchandise from Walmart and/or Target and who paid a higher price than what was the advertised shelf price. 

Merchandise affected by allegedly false and misleading shelf price advertising end up costing consumers around 5-10% more at Walmart and around 5-20% more at Target, the Walmart class action and Target class action allege. 

Walmart and Target are aware they are ‘deceiving’ consumers 

Kahn argues that consumers can also be overcharged “much higher” and that Walmart and Target are both aware that they are “deceiving its consumers.” 

Further, Khan claims that, while Target and Walmart have been fined for their alleged practice of misrepresenting shelf prices, the punishment does not dissuade them since the amount of profit they make each year from the practice exceeds the amount they pay in fines. 

Walmart and Target, thus, simply “pays the fines but continues its misleading, unfair and deceptive pricing practices,” according to the Walmart class action and Target class action. 

Kahn claims Walmart and Target are guilty of unjust enrichment and in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act and the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, among other things. 

Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of actual, compensatory, and punitive damages for himself and all Class Members. 

A separate class action lawsuit was filed against Target earlier this month by a consumer claiming it falsely markets its hydrogen peroxide solution as being an effective treatment for minor cuts. 

Have you paid a higher amount than the advertised shelf price for a product at Walmart or Target? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Scott H. Gingold of Gingold Legal, and Stanley D. Bernstein, Sandy A. Liebhard, Stephanie M. Beige, Jeffrey McEachern, and Hairong Basil of Bernstein Liebhard LLP. 

The Target, Walmart Shelf Pricing Class Action Lawsuits are Kahn v. Walmart, Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-04177, and Kahn v. Target Corporation, Case No. 1:22-cv-04178, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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