San Francisco, CA: Home Depot is facing a consumer fraud
class action lawsuit alleging it knowingly misrepresented eucalyptus wood as “premium” mahogany, resulting in consumers paying more for a lower grade product, without their knowledge.
Filed in California federal court, by Clyde Golden, the lawsuit states that Home Depot sells lumber advertised as the “finest grade,” “premium” mahogany which is in fact a species of eucalyptus or a lower-grade “santos mahogany.”
Golden asserts that these types of lumber are more difficult to work with than authentic mahogany products, and generally less sought after by consumers. Therefore, Home Depot customers would not have bought the lumber or would have paid less for it had the product been properly advertised.
“Despite representations to the contrary, consumers were induced into purchasing products that were not, in fact, authentic mahogany, but rather, other species of wood, such as eucalyptus, which is not mahogany at all,” the complaint states.
In the complaint, Golden states he purchased what he understood to be 1-inch by 2-inch strips of genuine mahogany. However, there were actually a “substantially less” valuable species of eucalyptus known as swamp mahogany.
Golden alleges that Home Depot made the misrepresentations through in-store labels and signage and through their “expertly trained” staff who often assert that the mahogany products are authentic.
According to the lawsuit, Home Depot has “profited significantly” from this false advertising, as customers have overpaid for products they believed were true mahogany, which is “prized for its beauty, durability, color, and the ease of which woodworkers are able to utilize its features.”
“As a result of Home Depot’s deceptive and unfair practices regarding the marketing, advertising, and soliciting of products represented to be mahogany, plaintiff did not receive the quality, prestige, or value of the product he purchased,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiff, Golden, seeks to represent a class of California residents who have bought products from Home Depot falsely advertised as genuine mahogany, since 2013.
The customers are represented by Keith L. Altman, Solomon Radner and Ari Kresch of Excolo Law PLLC. The suit is Clyde Golden v. Home Depot U.S.A. Inc., case number 2:17-at-00907 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
