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NEWARK
– Attorney General Anne Milgram today
announced that her office and the Division
of Consumer Affairs have filed suit against
Drug Fair, Target and Wal-Mart for allegedly
selling infant formula and non-prescription
drugs beyond the expiration date marked
on these items and also for selling back-to-school
merchandise that did not match the posted
prices.
All
three companies face enhanced civil penalties
because each violated terms of Consent Orders
previously reached with the state for the
alleged sale of expired infant formula and
non-prescription drugs. Each company paid
civil penalties and agreed not to offer
those out-of-date products for sale, under
terms of the Consent Orders.
“These
companies violated their previous settlements
with the state and violated the trust of
consumers once again,” Attorney General
Anne Milgram said. “I have no tolerance
for repeat violators and neither should
consumers.”
The
three lawsuits against Drug Fair, Wal-Mart
and Target are the latest in a series of
actions taken by the Attorney General and
Consumer Affairs against retailers who have
allegedly overcharged consumers and sold
out-of-date infant formula and non-prescription
drugs.
Rite
Aid this June agreed to pay $475,000 to
settle similar allegations against it and
Duane Reade agreed to pay $200,000 in November
2007.
Consumer
Affairs investigators also found that products
advertised in store flyers, including ‘back-to-school’
items such as binders, calculators and printers,
were not in stock. Consumers Affairs investigators,
including Office of Weights and Measures
inspectors who have regulation of scanning
devices, conducted unannounced store inspections
in late August.
“Consumers
are being squeezed in this era of $4 a gallon
gasoline and $4 a gallon milk. Consumers
who based their back-to-school shopping
on advertisements and then found that the
items either weren’t in stock, or
scanned at a higher than listed price, were
defrauded,” said David Szuchman, Consumer
Affairs Director.
The
state’s Complaints, filed in State
Superior Court in Hudson and Union counties,
allege that Drug Fair, Target and Wal-Mart
each violated the state’s Consumer
Fraud Act by offering for sale expired merchandise;
engaging in unconscionable commercial practices;
and making false promises and misrepresentations.
Each company also allegedly violated the
state’s Weights and Measures Act by
inaccurate price scanning.
Target
and Wal-Mart also allegedly violated the
Consumer Fraud Act by failing to display
selling prices. Target also committed a
violation by failing to post its rain check
policy.
Drug
Fair, Target and Wal-Mart also allegedly
violated the state’s Advertising Regulations
by not having sufficient quantities of items
in stock.
Target
and Wal-Mart also allegedly violated the
state’s Bicycle Safety Act by not
having proper notice of New Jersey’s
bike helmet law posted for consumers.
Under
the enhanced violations being sought by
the state, each violation of the prior Consent
Orders carry a civil penalty of up to $20,000.
Deputy
Attorneys General Jah-Juin Ho, Nicholas
Kant and Jeffrey Koziar are representing
the state in these cases.
Lists
showing the violations found at each store
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