Burlington Coat Factory of California LLC recently agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that alleges the company implemented deceptive “Compare” reference prices on coat tags. According to the class action settlement, the “Compare” prices might have been more than the actual prices of the same coats sold by other retailers. The primary plaintiffs assert that Burlington Coat Factory failed to truthfully reveal the “Compare” price, which deceived a large class of consumers. Lead plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit assert the deceptive pricing practice went on for several years.
The plaintiffs claim Burlington Coat Factory violated several California laws by implementing false, deceptive, or misleading comparative reference price strategies, as well as failing to let customers know about the company’s pricing practices. Class counsel has charged Burlington coat Factory with violating more than one provision of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA).
Burlington Coat Factory vehemently denies any wrongdoing, but the company settled the class action lawsuit to avoid the high costs of litigating numerous cases at the same time.
What You Need To Know
Class members have until May 30, 2017 to opt out of the class action settlement or contest any part of the agreement. According to court documents, “Class Members of the Burlington settlement include anyone who purchased merchandise advertised with a Compare At price, an Our Low price, or a lower price at a Burlington Coat Factory store in California and/or at its website and had the items shipped to a California address between July 1, 2011 and Jan. 26, 2017.” The potential award for class members is $5 cash or a merchandise certificate worth $7.50 that customers can use at a California based Burlington Coat Factory stores.
The class action settlement website www.BCFPricingClassSettlement.com includes an important message concerning the filing of a claim form. “If you did not receive a merchandise certificate in the mail or email, you must file a Claim Verification Form to affirm you purchased one or more products from Burlington Coat Factory with a Compare At and Our Low price tag from a California Burlington Coat Factory store or you purchased products from the Burlington website and had the products shipped to a California address.” The deadline for filing a claim form is May 30, 2017. Known on the California legal docket as Horosny, et al. v. Burlington Coat Factory of California LLC, Case No. 2:15-cv-05005-SJO-MRW, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the class action settlement has a final hearing scheduled on July 24, 2017. Class counsel consists of the law firms Douglas Caifa APLC and the Law Office of Christopher J. Morosoff. Munger Tolles & Olson LLP represents the defense counsel.
