Lawsuit Alleges Paint Products Falsely Advertised
A recent class action lawsuit filed by one buyer alleges that Rust-Oleum Corporation sells paint-and-primer products that don’t work without also buying a primer.
The complaint, filed in the United States Southern District of New York, was filed by New York resident Michael Nemirovsky on Feb. 6 on behalf of himself and “all others similarly situated.” It looks to represent anyone in the U.S. who has purchased one of the listed products within the applicable statute of limitations period.
About the Lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff reports that consumers would believe that products that offer paint and primer in one product would get the benefits of both a paint and a primer from just the one product.
“However, Defendant’s advertising and marketing campaign is false, deceptive and misleading since the Products do not work as represented as they do not adequately cover and adhere to the surface without first separately applying primer,” the complaint explains.
Primer must first be applied and allowed to dry to properly paint surfaces such as bare wood, metal or plaster, with previously painted surfaces often need to be freshly primed to achieve adequate cover and adhesion and to prevent subsequent peeling. The Defendant’s claim is that the “Paint & Primer” or “Paint + Primer” products contain both paint and primer without the necessity of separately purchasing and applying primer.
“In other words, the Products were marketed as saving the purchaser the additional cost, time, and effort of going through the process of priming the surface before painting it,” the lawsuit claims. “Because this marketing claim was false, Plaintiffs and Class members were forced to incur additional money, time, and effort in order to achieve a properly painted surface.”
Independent testing of the products was reportedly conducted on at least two different surfaces. The testing allegedly revealed that one coat of the product, applied according to Rust-Oleum’s recommendations, did not properly adhere to either surface. Additionally, the products reportedly showed “significant bleed through” after about one week of aging.
The claim also cited several complaints regarding the efficacy of the products on Home Depot’s website, noting that the “Defendant acknowledged it was aware of these complaints as it provided responses.”
Examples of the products at issue in the lawsuit include:
Nemirovsky reportedly purchased Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2x Ultra Paint + Primer in August 2022, applying one coat of the paint, letting it dry and then applying additional coatings. According to the document, he ended up using more than double the recommended amount of paint.
The lawsuit notes that had he known that the representation of his purchase was “false, misleading and deceptive,” he would not have purchased the product.
Nemirovsky has reportedly sued for violations of state consumer laws, New York General Business Law and breach of warranty, and seeks certification of the class action, in addition to damages of $500 per transaction, fees, costs and a jury trial.
