JC Penney Sued for False Advertising in California

This week, my firm, along with Baker Law PC, filed another class action lawsuit against JC Penney for false advertising and deceptive trade practices. The case parallels the ongoing litigation against JC Penney in Alabama, which I've written about before.

The lawsuit seeks relief under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 and 17500 for JC Penney’s false advertising regarding the sale of jewelry, whether it involves metal fineness; the use of undisclosed or less-desirable metals as plating or finishes over precious metals; the existence, thickness or quality of metal plating; the use of alternative, cheaper, less-desirable, or non-precious metals or metal alloys; the number, size or quality of diamonds or other stones; the geographic origin of the item or its contents; failure to comply with the FTC Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries; or any other characteristic of jewelry about which JC Penney has lied to make a sale. You can read the complaint here.

We are actively pursuing similar claims against JC Penney and other jewelry sellers for false advertising. Feel free to give me a call if you have concerns about whether you have purchased jewelry that was falsely advertised.

~bjm

More Evidence of False Advertising in the Jewelry Industry is Uncovered

After months of reviewing tens of thousands of internal J.C. Penney documents, our firm's class action lawsuit against J.C. Penney has uncovered evidence that we believe proves that hundreds of items of jewelry may have been falsely advertised over the past several years. My firm, Miano Law PC, has partnered with Baker Law PC in this litigation, which seeks to certify a class action on behalf of those who have been misled by false and deceptive jewelry advertising. The company, of course, denies that it has done anything wrong.

We have identified hundreds of items of jewelry sold by J.C. Penney which contain Rhodium plating, even though we have found very few advertisements which disclose the use of Rhodium plating. The items include virtually all kinds of jewelry, from rings to bracelets to necklaces to earrings. Most of the advertisements, including the one for the bracelet purchased by our client, claim that the plating is Platinum. Surprisingly, some items advertised as yellow or white Gold do not mention any plating at all, and yet internal records of J.C. Penney show that some of these items are actually plated with Rhodium. As I mentioned in my last post about this case, the failure to disclose the use of Rhodium plating is deceptive, in our view, and we hope to convince J.C. Penney to change these deceptive practices. It simply is not truthful to advertise a ring as white Gold if it is actually plated in Rhodium to make it shine more brightly.

We have also identified hundreds of items that we believe violate the FTC's standards for advertising the size of diamonds used in jewelry. These standards, which you can read for yourself here, require that retailers who advertise diamonds using fractions rather than more precise decimals explain in a "conspicuous" and nearby disclosure that the size is "not exact". The FTC standards also require that the advertisement contain a ''disclosure of a reasonable range of weight for each fraction" on "every page" where the fractional representation is made so that consumers know exactly what they are buying. We have found evidence that J.C. Penney violated this guideline routinely in advertising many diamonds over the past four years, although they recently (several years into this litigation) seem to have begun following the FTC standard. Again, J.C. Penney denies any wrongdoing.

Among the other deceptive advertising we are investigating in this case:  the use of incorrect country of origin designations; improper disclosure of lab-created gemstones; the undisclosed use of hollow, or rolled, gold; misrepresentations regarding the number of diamonds in a particular item of jewelry; and misrepresentations regarding the use of plating. As we proceed to review documents and take more discovery, we are learning more on a weekly basis. At this point, we estimate the total sales of falsely advertised jewelry sold by J.C. Penney is in the millions of dollars.

We are actively seeking consumers who have purchased jewelry from J.C. Penney over the last four years to aid in this litigation, particularly consumers from California. If you would like to get involved or have any questions about an item of jewelry you purchased, give me a call or send an email. I will be glad to inspect your jewelry and discuss your rights with you.

~B

Is the Better Business Bureau Operating a Pay to Play Scam?

I recently handled an arbitration for a homeowner who was horribly mistreated by a local service company. As a result of their mishandling the cleaning of her house after a water leak in her kitchen, all of the flooring and drywall in the home had to be replaced. The company refused to pay for the damage they caused, so we filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau ("BBB") to arbitrate the dispute, just as her contract with the company required.

The good news? The arbitration was free. The bad news? The arbitration resulted in her getting only a fraction of her damages paid by this company. I guess you get what you pay for.

In fact, that seems to be the way the BBB does business these days, according to this disturbing report from ABC News.

FTC Strikes Back at Pom Wonderful's End Run

FTC lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss POM Wonderful's pre-emptive suit against the FTC challenging what it says it is a new rule requiring pre-approval before a company can make health claims.

POM filed suit in September, just before the FTC brought an administrative complaint against POM alleging false advertising regarding the health benefits of POM's pomegranate-based products.

Gerber Graduates Juice Treats - You Oughta Be Ashamed!

Gerber Graduates Juice Treats, a product "for preschoolers", according to its label, contains bright pictures of fresh fruit on its label: oranges, grapes, raspberries, peaches, pineapple, cherries. To further the impression that this product is a healthy and natural fruit smorgasbord, the label also says "FRUIT MEDLEY" in bold blue letters, followed by this list:

natural cherry, grape, orange, pineapple, peach and raspberry flavors with other natural flavors

Sounds yummy and healthy, to boot, right?

Well, not so much. These "Treats" - despite plain language on the label to the contrary - apparently contain NO ORANGE, NO CHERRY, AND NO PINEAPPLE AT ALL. NONE. NADA. ZIP. Instead, the treats contain less than two percent raspberry and apple juice concentrate. The main ingredients? Corn syrup and sugar.

We'll Tell You What's Fair, and You'll Like It!

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced a settlement today with UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's second-largest health insurance company, over allegations that its captive insurance data provider, Ingenix, was manipulating the billing data to help the insurer defraud millions of consumers out of legitimate reimbursements. The settlement calls for payment of $50 million by United, as well as a non-profit to take over the collection and analysis of health care billing information, which many insurance companies use to set "usual and customary" rates for various health procedures, and which Ingenix was manipulating for the benefit of its master, United and most of the other major health insurers.