Walmart will pay $5.6 million to settle a consumer protection lawsuit alleging the Arkansas-based retail giant overcharged customers and sold products such as produce, baked goods and other prepared items with less weight than shown on the label.
The civil complaint, filed by a team of district attorneys’ offices, alleged that the retailer unlawfully charged customers prices higher than their lowest advertised or posted price, violating false advertising and unfair competition laws in California, where the retail chain has 280 stores.
This is not the first time the company has run into legal trouble for similar issues. In 2012, Walmart paid $2.1 million for overcharging consumers in violation of a 2008 judgment against the business.
Walmart reached the latest settlement with the Santa Clara County, San Diego County, San Bernardino County and Sonoma County district attorneys’ offices in California.
“When someone brings an item to the register to be scanned, the price must be right,” Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “They expect it. California expects it. My office expects it — and we will apply the law to make sure of it.”
The court ordered Walmart to pay $5.5 million in civil penalties for the case violations and maintain employees responsible for price and weight accuracy in California stores. Walmart will also pay nearly $140,000 to cover the costs of the investigations conducted by various weights and measures departments in the state. Santa Clara County will receive nearly $1.4 million. The penalties will go to the Santa Clara County DA’s Consumer Protection fund.
The investigation of Walmart’s pricing and weight accuracy violations was assisted by inspectors from the Santa Clara County Weights and Measures Division, the Division of Agriculture, and the Department of Environmental Health.
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