NEW ORLEANS – Lumber Liquidators’ allegedly defective flooring brings another lawsuit over alleged formaldehyde emissions.
Evangeline Ellis filed a lawsuit on March 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Court of Louisiana against Lumber Liquidators Inc., Lumber Liquidators Leasing LLC, Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc., and Lumber Liquidators Services LLC, citing breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and other counts.
Ellis alleges that she purchased approximately 600 square feet of the alleged Chinese flooring on April 2, 2013, under the belief that it was manufactured at a laminate mill in China and was compliant to formaldehyde standards. However, she asserts that she was deceived by Lumbar Liquidators upon discovery that the company manufactures, distributes and sells Chinese flooring that emits excessive levels of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is listed as a human carcinogen by the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the suit states.
The plaintiff asserts that defendants’ illegal, deceptive and unfair conduct of its selling, advertising and manufacturing of the flooring has caused her direct financial harm as her purchases are now markedly less valuable because of the elevated formaldehyde emissions. She asserts that Lumber Liquidators knew or should have known that its Chinese flooring was dangerous and yet illegally continued to mislead costumers about its safety.
She is now seeking compensatory damages, injunctive relief, for payment for the cost of the suit, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorney fees and any other rewards deemed just by the court. Ellis is requesting a jury trial and is represented by Russ M. Herman, Leonard A. Davis and Stephen J. Herman from Herman, Herman & Katz LLC in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-01766-KDE-JCW