The Los Angeles City attorney’s office on behalf of the State of California has filed lawsuits against J.C. Penny, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Sears for advertising an alleged “sales price” alongside an allegedly inflated “original,” “regular,” “former” or “list” price in order to persuade customers to purchase their merchandise.
Under California law it is false and misleading to advertise a former price of a product unless it was the prevailing market price within three months of the advertisement. It is important to note that the CA complaints not only ask the court to enjoin future violations but also ask for damages of $2500 for each violation plus an additional civil penalty of $2500 for each violation against senior citizens or disabled persons.
It is also interesting to know that in California violations of the California consumer protection laws can be enforced not only by the state Attorney General, but also by any district attorney, or by any city attorney of a city having a population over 750,000.
Take Away: Be careful when advertising sales or discounted prices to ensure you have the proper support to justify the consumer savings.
