Lumber Liquidators might sue “60 Minutes” for libel after the news program’s report on the retailer’s Chinese-made laminate product sparked an investor and consumer backlash that dropped the company’s stock $577 million since the program aired on March 1.
An investor said senior Lumber Liquidators executives told him there was a 50-50 chance the company would sue “60 Minutes,” according to Fox Business.
The company is feeling emboldened since the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced it would investigate the formaldehyde levels in Lumber Liquidators Chinese-made laminate flooring by testing only the finished goods, the same method the retailer uses, the investor said. “60 Minutes” tested laminate flooring using the deconstructed method, which industry groups have described as a “rough screening” method and is not required by California Air Resource Board standards.
“The company thinks once the safety commission’s investigation is over it will have enough data to show '60 Minutes' ignored its side of the story,” the investor told Fox Business. “That said, there is also a feeling inside the company that it will be exonerated, so who needs a long legal battle.”
A “60 Minutes” spokesperson confirmed he had also heard about the possibility of a libel suit, but stood behind the testing done for the report, according to Fox Business.
