J.Crew Faces New Class Action Lawsuit Over Deceptive Pricing Practices
- Author: Natasha Herman
- Posted: 2024-08-27
Lawsuit Alleges J.Crew Purposefully Mislead Customers
In January of 2023, a group of plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against J.Crew in the California Superior Court. This lawsuit claims that customers were misled whenever they shopped at J.Crew outlet stores or purchased items from the J.Crew Factory brand.
At a glance, these discounted clothes appeared very similar to standard J.Crew clothing. The label was almost the same, other than two small dots under the name, and it was marketed with the J.Crew branding. Furthermore, they had price tags that implied they were marked-down versions of actual J.Crew clothing. For example, a tag showed that a shirt had a "comparable value" of $79 despite being sold in the outlet store for $19.
Unfortunately for customers, the clothing was actually poorer quality than actual J.Crew garments. Customers pointed out that sizing was less consistent, the fabric was often thinner, and some garments had poorer stitching. Despite customers assuming they were getting a deal on J.Crew clothing, they were actually paying for clothing that was not constructed according to J.Crew's usual standards.
Plaintiffs Ask for Millions and Changes to J.Crew's Marketing Practices
According to the lawsuit, J.Crew is accused of participating in five different problematic practices. They're accused of false advertising, fraud, and violation of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act. Furthermore, the lawsuit also alleges unjust enrichment and unfair competition.
As compensation for these damages, the J.Crew class action lawsuit requests compensation of $5 million or higher. This is a fairly standard request for this size of class action lawsuit, and the resulting compensation will be split among all plaintiffs. In addition to monetary compensation, the lawsuit also asks that the court require J.Crew to adjust its marketing. This could be a particularly big deal since it could require rebranding of a vast amount of clothing and stores.
Legal Experts Predict J.Crew Will Settle
When asked about the lawsuit. J.Crew spokespeople have called the allegations "meritless" and expressed their intention to mount a vigorous legal defense. However, many legal experts doubt that the class action suit will end in a lengthy court battle. Instead, they believe that J.Crew will eventually settle with the plaintiffs out of court. Much of this belief is based on precedents from 2018. Another similar retailer, Ann Taylor, faced a class action lawsuit and chose to settle, so many assume J.Crew will do the same.
A settlement could provide many benefits for J.Crew. It could help the company avoid further bad press which is very important following the company's recent bankruptcy filing of 2020. Furthermore, it could help them avoid having to entirely change the branding for their J.Crew Factory line. If they can negotiate a mutually satisfactory deal, the company is less likely to end up having to make court-ordered changes to its marketing practices.
How to Tell If You Might Be Eligible for the Lawsuit
The class action lawsuit already contains several plaintiffs, and it's expected to include hundreds more. To handle the larger lawsuit size, the California Superior Court has approved moving the lawsuit to the U.S. District Court. This move to the federal court indicates that the suit may grow to be even larger than expected.
So far, extensive details about who can join the class action lawsuit have not been published. However, the lawsuit is expected to include people who purchased certain items at J.Crew Factory stores or websites within a certain time frame. Those who are interested in the lawsuit can contact the attorneys representing the plaintiffs for more information. The class action plaintiffs are currently represented by Neak Deckant, Matthew Gird, and Julian Diamond of Bursor & Fisher PA.
