BOISE, Idaho (Legal Newsline) - Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced a settlement on Wednesday with an Idaho Falls furniture seller that allegedly advertised a going-out-of-business sale without intending to close for good.
S&S Sales Inc., doing business as Oakridge Furniture, and the company's owners, Angela Steed and L. Kip Steed, allegedly conducted the sale with the intention to reopen in the future as an Ashley Furniture store. Under Idaho law, a store that closes and subsequently reopens in the same location under a different name is not going out of business and may not hold a going-out-of-business sale.
Oakridge Furniture allegedly used banners advertising the sale that misrepresented the store was closing for good, when that was not the case.
Under the terms of the agreement, if S&S Sales or the Steeds hold a future going-out-of-business sale, they are required to inform Wasden's office at least 30 days before it begins. S&S Sales must also provide Wasden's office with a detailed inventory of the furniture to be sold, a detailed inventory of the furniture sold, a detailed inventory of the furniture remaining at the end of the sale, information about the disposal of any remaining inventory and the sale's projected end date.
The Steeds paid Wasden's office $500 for attorney costs. A civil penalty of $10,000 is suspended as long as S&S Sales and the Steeds comply with the agreement.
Idaho AG settles going-out-of-business claim against furniture store
