Marin, 6 Other Counties Successful with $3.96 Million False Advertising Settlement

October 3, 2024
Source: https://www.marincounty.gov/news-releases/marin-6-other-counties-successful-396-million-false-advertising-settlement

San Rafael, CA – The parent company of 586 grocery stores in California, including nine in Marin County, has agreed to pay $3.96 million to resolve a civil lawsuit over false advertising and unfair competition, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office announced. 

The action against Albertsons Companies, Inc., and its subsidiaries Safeway, Inc., and The Vons Companies, Inc. (collectively ACI) was filed in Marin County Superior Court and prosecuted in partnership with the district attorneys of Alameda, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Sonoma, and Ventura counties. 

“My office is committed to protecting consumers and ensuring they receive truthful and accurate information so they can always make informed purchasing decisions,” said Marin County District Attorney Lori E. Frugoli.

The district attorneys’ complaint alleges ACI made false and misleading representations regarding some commodities sold based on weight where ACI was responsible for determining the net weight of the products. Net weight refers to the weight of a product not including the weight of any packaging. The ACI products at issue were sold either by weight, such as the net weight of the product multiplied by an advertised unit price (such as $1 per pound) or by a fixed price for a fixed net weight (such as $2.99 for a 16-ounce bag of tortilla chips.). Commodities included produce, meats, and baked goods. 

ACI failed to maintain adequate procedures and conduct employee training to ensure net weights determined and advertised by ACI were accurate. As a result, consumers were overcharged based on inaccurate weights and also received less product by weight than represented by ACI. For example, roasted chickens with a stated net weight of 30 ounces were found to weigh less than represented.   

Safeway and Vons failed to abide by provisions of a 2014 injunction mandating they implement a price accuracy policy, alleged the prosecutors. The policy required that customers who were overcharged for an item either received the item for free or received a $5 gift card depending on the price of the item. Safeway and Vons failed to consistently honor the policy and failed to adequately train employees on the company’s requirements, resulting in consumers being overcharged without receiving the policy’s benefits.

Marin is among seven counties that will split the settlement, which will be used for further enforcement of consumer protection laws. 

ACI is enjoined from: making any false or misleading statement regarding the price of any item offered for sale; charging an amount greater than the lowest advertised price; unlawfully selling products by gross weight, and; selling commodities in less quantity than represented. 

ACI is required to hire an independent third-party auditor for three years to determine the company’s compliance with the injunction provisions. ACI must also conduct enhanced employee and vendor compliance training on the price accuracy policy and California law as it pertains to weighed commodities. 

Inspections by Marin County’s Department of Agriculture, Division of Weights and Measures, as well as its counterparts across the state, discovered the weighing discrepancies that formed much of the basis for the district attorneys’ complaint. 

“We could not have achieved this result without the outstanding work of our Weights and Measures inspectors as well as vigilant consumers,” said Deputy District Attorney Andres H. Perez, who prosecuted the case for Marin County.