Dive Brief:
- A class action lawsuit alleging that Publix overcharged consumers for certain on-sale foods sold by weight was dismissed by the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Florida on March 10.
- The plaintiff alleged that the grocer’s point-of-sale system altered the weights of sale items to weigh more than they actually did, leading them to be overcharged. The lawsuit also alleged that Publix regularly displayed signs for expired in-store sales and posted incorrect pricing per unit shelf stickers for baby formula.
- The case, which was filed early last year, was dismissed without prejudice.
Dive Insight:
The court found that the plaintiff’s complaint “lacks standing” and “fails to state any viable causes of action,” court documents stated, adding that “the district court … should have dismissed the case.”
The plaintiff received refunds for the 18 alleged Publix purchases made from April 2024 to April 2025, and for other purchased items, the plaintiff did not allege that she couldn’t receive a refund, “but rather that it was either too onerous to do so or that she chose not to.” This ultimately led to the dismissal of the class action complaint.
“[The plaintiff] successfully obtained a refund for various purchases, negating any injury that she could have suffered due to [Publix’s] allegedly deceptive practices. And as to the other purchases for which she did not receive a refund, Plaintiff fails to explain why she could not avail herself of the Publix Refund Policy,” Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II wrote in the decision.
