Judge throws out first lawsuit over L.L.Bean's new return policy
Three other lawsuits are working their way through the courts.
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The case of an unhappy L.L.Bean customer in Illinois has been dismissed.
On June 28, a federal judge ruled that Victor Bondi failed to establish that he’d suffered harm or was unhappy with his purchase of the famous Bean boots he bought last year.
Bondi sued the Maine-based outfitter after it announced that it was immediately rescinding its well-known 100-percent satisfaction guarantee warranty and replacing it with a one-year limit on most purchases. The reasoning for the change? The company was tired of being taken advantage of.
Bondi’s team of attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
L.L. Bean spokeswoman Carolyn Beem said the company is pleased that the judge granted its motion to dismiss the Illinois case in its entirety.
“As we have maintained from the outset, this suit is without merit and the complaint misstated L.L.Bean’s policies,” Beem said. “Products purchased prior to February 9, 2018 are not subject to the new one-year restriction on returns. This Plaintiff did not claim to be dissatisfied with his L.L.Bean purchase, was never denied a refund, and therefore has no basis on which to pursue this case.”
Three similar lawsuits against L.L.Bean are pending in California, New York, and Massachusetts. Beem said L.L.Bean has filed motions to dismiss the other three lawsuits.
