It’s been almost a year since Lumber Liquidators—now LL Flooring—agreed to settle a class action suit brought by customers who purchased its Morning Star Strand Bamboo. But some customers have reported they have still yet to receive payment from the settlement—and some say they have only received pennies.
The settlement, finalized in October 2020, applied to customers who purchased the bamboo flooring between Jan. 1, 2012, and March 15, 2019. The settlement totaled $14 million in cash and $14 million in vouchers. CPT Group Inc., the settlement administrator, was originally scheduled to mail the payments by April 21, 2021, but the mailing was pushed back at least twice—to July and, most recently, to the end of August.
Cassie and Brian Shaw of Nebraska say they have yet to receive anything from the settlement. Cassie says she called and heard a voicemail update that said the vouchers (not payments) were in the mail and expected to arrive in 7–10 days. “I have no idea when they added that notice to the voicemail,” Cassie says. “There was no date mentioned.”
The Shaws purchased their bamboo flooring in early 2016 and began experiencing issues with it within a few years. “Some boards were damaged significantly, while other damages were quite minor, but you can see damage to every board,” Cassie says. “The damages include warping, cracking, spacing, bubbling, chipping, scratching, delaminating and more.”
Karen E. Holcomb of Charleston, WVa., purchased her flooring in September 2016 and began experiencing issues two years later. She invested $3,270 in it at the time and is not sure what to expect from the settlement—she has still not received any payment, and says communication about its status has been slow. Her latest communication was Sept. 8, which stated she would receive her checks within 7–10 business days. She has connected with other members of the class action suit over Facebook and the WFB website’s comment section, where many commenters have expressed frustration with the amount they say they have received from the settlement.
“I have heard of others getting vouchers for as low as 23 cents,” Holcomb says. “Granted, they are Level 1 claimants and may not have damage or couldn't prove damage, but regardless, that would be insulting at best and a waste of settlement funds to even buy the postage.”
One commenter reported receiving a voucher of $0.58 on Aug. 23. Another reported a voucher of $300 after spending $2,700 on the flooring itself. Another of the many commenters reported spending $8,000 on the flooring and receiving a voucher for $515.
Cassie Shaw says she is doubtful she will receive anything from the settlement at this point. By agreeing to join the class action lawsuit, they gave up their rights to take LL Flooring to court on their own, she says. The labor costs to replace her damaged floor will be around $4,700.
“I have been so disappointed by both this flooring itself and the situation—it bothers me every day, because I feel like I was swindled,” Cassie says. “I’ve been feeling this way for more than four years now.”
CPT Group Inc. did not respond to a request for comment.
