PENSACOLA – Hobby Lobby faces a class action lawsuit accusing the arts and crafts company of misleading customers with false advertisements, according to documents submitted June 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division.
Plaintiff Steven D. Marcrum leads the class action and filed the lawsuit against Hobby Lobby claiming the company violated the common law of Florida that bans “deceptive advertising and trade practices,” according to the lawsuit. The suit alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violations of the Florida Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The filing said there are more than 100 class members, and the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million.
Marcrum stated Hobby Lobby violated these laws when it allegedly falsely promoted discounts for certain products and sales that would never end.
“Hobby Lobby says it takes coupon discounts off of ‘regular’ prices, but instead it takes them off a price it never sells merchandise at,” the plaintiff claimed, adding the prices were inflated while advertisements made it seem as if the customer was getting a true discount, according to the filing.
Marcrum filed the lawsuit after his own experience in the popular store. The suit states Marcrum wanted to buy a small table that was marked, “'Always 30 percent off,' at a price of $83.99." The filing said that Marcrum had a coupon for 40 percent off, so he thought he would get 40 percent off the $83.99. When Marcrum went to check out, he received 40 percent off of $119.99, which the company said was the regular price of the item.
Marcrum stated because of this, Hobby Lobby’s signage and other forms of advertising are deceptive and misleading.
The class brings the lawsuit against Hobby Lobby in multiple subclasses: the national breach of contract or unjust enrichment class and the Florida Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act subclass. Marcrum represents both classes.
The court filing requests a trial by jury.