Los Angeles, CA: Two separate consumer fraud class action lawsuits have been filed against The Gap Inc., Banana Republic LLC and Saks Fifth Avenue LLC in a California court alleging they deceived customers as to the quality and supposed savings of outlet store items.
According to the lawsuit against The Gap and Banana Republic ??" which The Gap owns, the company hides a "Factory Store"label with three squares on it, on clothing it sells at its outlets. The lawsuit claims that the label indicates the clothes were made specifically for the outlet and are of inferior quality to those sold in the traditional Gap and Banana Republic retail outlets.
In the Saks Fifth Avenue lawsuit, plaintiffs allege the retailer uses a manufactured "Market Price"inducing the consumer to believe that they would pay a higher price for the price at a traditional Saks Fifth Avenue store, in addition to putting the lower outlet price on the items, creating the impression that consumers are getting a discount.
However, the lawsuit contends that items sold at Saks Off 5th clearance stores were made specifically for the outlet. Named plaintiff Tova Malik says it was this perceived price savings that led her to purchase items from a Saks Off Fifth store at an outlet mall in Camarillo, California.
"Defendant labels its Saks Off 5th clothing with a tag that shows a markedly lower price from the "Market Price,"which corresponds to the price that appears to be used in traditional Saks Fifth Avenue retail stores,"the lawsuit states. "Plaintiff was lured in by this large price difference and as a result purchased items of clothing and accessories from defendant's Saks Off 5th in July of 2014."
The plaintiffs for the Gap and Saks Fifth Avenue lawsuits are represented by Michael Louis Kelly, Behram V. Parekh and Heather M. Baker of Kirtland & Packard LLP.
The cases are Malik v. Saks Fifth Avenue LLC, case number BC555134; and Rubenstein v. The Gap Inc., case number BC555010, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
