BATON ROUGE – A man is filing a class-action lawsuit against Lumber Liquidators for an alleged scheme to import wood that does not meet U.S. formaldehyde regulation standards.
Benjamin Turner, individually and on behalf of all similarly situated persons, filed a lawsuit on March 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against Lumber Liquidators Inc., citing violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, redhibition, and violation of the Louisiana Products Liability Act and the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
The class action surrounds the defendant’s alleged scheme to import, falsely warrant, advertise, and sell Chinese flooring in the U.S. that fails to comply with relevant and applicable formaldehyde standards, rendering the flooring defective.
Formaldehyde is classified as a volatile organic compound, which is a chemical that becomes a gas at room temperature, the suit states. It is an allegedly known human carcinogen and is associated with a myriad adverse medical conditions even in short-term exposure.
On Dec. 12, 2014, the suit states that Turner purchased Golden Teak 12-millimeter laminate flooring directly from the defendant. The flooring was manufactured in China, and the plaintiff avers that the packaging was misleading in regards to the levels of formaldehyde, which is regulated differently in China compared to the U.S.
Turner seeks class-action certification, compensatory damages and/or statutory damages, exemplary damages for class members, attorneys’ fees, costs, pre- and post-judgment interest and a trial by jury. He is represented by Kevin Klibert, Salvadore Christina Jr. and Matthew B. Moreland of the Becnel Law Firm LLC in Reserve.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana Case Number 3:16-cv-00140-BAJ-RLB