March 27, 2015 — The New York Post reports that four New Yorkers have filed a class action lawsuit against Lumber Liquidators in Manhattan Federal Court.
The lawsuit joins a growing number of class actions and individual lawsuits accusing Lumber Liquidators of selling Chinese-made laminate wood floors with dangerous levels of formaldehyde.
One plaintiff in the class action, Paul Said, had 1,000 square feet of “Dream Home 8mm Nirvana French Oak” laminate installed in his home. Soon afterward, he began experiencing serious health problems:
“During installation, he suffered an asthma attack and was hospitalized for a day – even though he didn’t have history of asthma, despite working on construction sites, according to court papers. ‘He needs to use asthma medications and an inhaler whenever he is inside his home,’ the suit said.”
The class action was also filed by Frank Graham, who installed 350 feet of “Kensington Manor” laminate wood flooring in his home last year. Soon afterward, his wife developed serious respiratory problems.
The allegations against Lumber Liquidators went mainstream after a scathing report by 60 Minutes. Undercover investigators recorded employees at Chinese mills who admitted mislabeling flooring for Lumber Liquidators as compliant with regulations limiting formaldehyde emissions.
Lumber Liquidators has fired back, fiercely defending the floors and accusing 60 Minutes of using an improper test. Investigators used “deconstructive” testing, which takes a finished board, rips off the laminate surface, and tests emissions from the core.
Earlier this week, the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) said it would open an investigation. However, the CPSC said it would not be using deconstructive testing — rather, they would test emissions from finished boards with the laminate surface intact.
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