Toano, Va. — Lumber Liquidators is facing a third federal class action lawsuit over claims some of its wood products had excessive levels of formaldehyde and may have been harvested in violation of the Lacey Act.
The newest suit, filed Jan. 14 in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia in Newport News, seeks in excess of $5 million in damages and injunctive relief on behalf of all purchasers of Lumber Liquidators Chinese-made flooring in Alabama, New York and Virginia, the home states of the four named plaintiffs.
That makes it narrower than an earlier class action suit filed on behalf of Lumber Liquidators customers, which covered customers throughout the United States. The first suit was filed on behalf of Lumber Liquidators shareholders.
All three suits result from allegations that Lumber Liquidators sold Chinese-made flooring that was allegedly made from timber cut from a restricted environment and contained illegal levels of formaldehyde. Used as a resin to bind the flooring together, formaldehyde gives off fumes and is a known carcinogen.