NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A New Jersey man is suing a clothing retailer over claims of price scheming.
Joseph A. D'Aversa, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a class-action lawsuit March 1 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against J. Crew, Chinos Holdings, et al., alleging violations of consumer protection statutes in several states, violations of the New York General Business Law, violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, breach of express warranty, unjust enrichment, and negligent misrepresentation.
The suit alleges the defendants set an arbitrary "valued at" price for every item offered for sale on the J. Crew Factory store website, but this "original" or "regular" price is allegedly misleading because no items are ever sold at the "valued at" price, but instead are always sold at a price lower than the "valued at" price.
The suit also alleges the defendants assert that their advertised sale prices are only available for a limited time, but then each sale is immediately followed by another, similar sale. As a result, the prices on J. Crew's Factory website are not discounts at all, but are really the regular prices of the items. The suit states that federal regulations prohibit the advertising of "phantom" price reductions.
D'Aversa and others in the class seek disgorgement and restitution, economic and compensatory damages, punitive or exemplary damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, interest, attorney fees and other costs of the suit. They are represented by attorney Ross H. Schmierer of Paris Ackerman & Schmierer in New York, and by attorneys Stephen P. DeNittis, Joseph A. Osefchen and Shane T. Prince of DeNittis Osefchen in Marlton, New Jersey.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Case number 1:16-CV-01590-DLC