Walmart Deceptive Pricing Lawsuit Revived: Appeals Court Ruling

Walmart Class Action Lawsuit

Walmart is facing a class action lawsuit alleging deceptive pricing practices, where customers are charged higher prices at checkout than those displayed on store shelves.

  • Consumers Affected: Customers who shopped at Walmart stores in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina, and were potentially overcharged due to price discrepancies.

  • Reason for Lawsuit: Allegations of misleading pricing practices that violate consumer protection laws, causing financial harm to customers.

  • Where: The case was revived by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and will now proceed in a lower court.
Walmart shopping cart and receipt with bag

Federal Court Revives Lawsuit Over Widespread "Bait-and-Switch" Pricing at Walmart

A federal appeals court has revived a class action lawsuit against Walmart, accusing the retail giant of misleading customers with deceptive pricing practices in stores across several states. 

The case alleges that Walmart charged higher prices at checkout than the prices advertised on store shelves.

Nationwide Price Discrepancies Alleged

Plaintiff Yoram Kahn claims Walmart's widespread practice of displaying one price on store shelves and charging a different, often higher, price at the register has cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide.

Lawyers for the consumers highlighted specific examples of price discrepancies found in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Notably, they also found these discrepancies in North Carolina, even after regulators there fined Walmart in 2022 for price-scanning errors.

The lawsuit argues that these seemingly minor price differences, like a New Jersey Walmart charging 52 cents more for Crisco Pure Canola Oil than the shelf price, add up quickly for customers.

Appeals Court Rejects Walmart's Arguments

A lower court dismissed the case in 2023, reasoning that receipts provided after purchase inform customers of the final price charged. However, the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago strongly disagreed. 

On July 3rd, Circuit Judge David Hamilton, writing for the three-judge panel, argued that it's unreasonable to expect customers to meticulously track shelf prices and compare them to receipts, especially at checkout where distractions abound.

"Who does that?" Judge Hamilton wrote, emphasizing the impracticality of the lower court's reasoning. The court further rejected Walmart's argument that providing receipts negated any deception caused by inaccurate shelf prices.

"Some consumers lack smartphones to photograph the shelf prices as they shop, requiring them to write down or remember dozens of distinct shelf prices," Hamilton stated. "Others lack the time to retrace their steps through the store, comparing their receipts against all the shelf prices. Even if shoppers somehow retain records of each shelf price, at checkout, many are trying to corral young children, others are skimming the tabloid headlines displayed to entice them, and still others are lending a hand to the baggers or pulling out their wallets. Shoppers can easily miss the split-second display of a price or two at checkout. Even if consumers do notice a price discrepancy on a point-of-sale display or on a receipt, they must then raise the issue to the store’s attention to resolve it."

Millions of Shoppers Potentially Impacted by Walmart Overcharging Lawsuit

The appeals court's decision allows the lawsuit to proceed as a class action lawsuit. This means other customers who believe they were overcharged by Walmart in similar situations can join the case and potentially seek compensation. The case will now be heard in a lower court, with a date yet to be determined.

Walmart has faced multiple instances of allegedly overcharging customers. Earlier this year, a class action lawsuit against Walmart led to a $45 million settlement for overcharging on certain meat and citrus fruit packs. While customers could have claimed up to $500, the deadline has now passed.

In a separate incident reported in May, Walmart acknowledged a technical glitch in mid-March that caused overcharging at 1,600 of its US stores. The glitch prevented accurate price data from reaching self-checkout kiosks, affecting thousands of items, including food, clothes, and appliances, for several days, according to Bloomberg. While Walmart has not disclosed the exact number of affected shoppers, it is estimated that millions were potentially overcharged due to the retailer's daily customer volume of around 37 million.

Case Details

  • Lawsuit: Kahn v. Walmart Inc.
  • Case Number: 23-1751
  • Court: 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
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