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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, alleged to have hid free product for low-income tax filers

Lawsuits
Tax

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – A Maryland woman is suing the makers of TurboTax over allegations it defrauded consumers by concealing access to the Internal Revenue Service's Free File program.

Darleen Allwein, as assignee of Judith L. Hyland, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on May 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Intuit Inc., alleging fraud, unjust enrichment, violation of the California Unfair Competition Law and other counts.

The suit states Hyland filed her federal and state taxes using TurboTax in March and was charged $119.98. The suit states Hyland's adjusted gross income for the year was $414.

The suit states that the defendant agreed to participate in the IRS's Free File program, which is meant to help lower-income individuals with their taxes. The suit states that the defendant offered a deceptive range of TurboTax products and hid its free product, Freedom Edition.

"Intuit has made Freedom Edition incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to access," the suit states.

The plaintiff is seeking trial by jury, restitution, punitive damages, exemplary damages, civil penalties, interest, attorneys' fees, court costs and other relief deemed fit. The plaintiff is represented by Eli R. Greenstein, Stacey M. Kaplan, Jenny Paquette, Joseph H. Meltzer, Melissa L. Troutner and Natalie Lesser of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP in Radnor, Pennsylvania and San Francisco.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case number 3:19-CV-02567

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