LOS ANGELES--Construction defect law firm Robertson & Associates, LLP, filed a RICO class action lawsuit today against Lumber Liquidators, Inc. (NYSE: LL) and the companies Lumber Liquidators has hired to conduct indoor air testing for formaldehyde in its customers’ homes. The lawsuit names Building Health Check, LLC, and EDLab, a division of Pure Air Control Services, Inc., of Clearwater, Florida, as co-defendants. The suit alleges that Lumber Liquidators “has hired a mold lab to conduct formaldehyde gas emissions testing and is trying to lull its customers into a false sense of security with the accreditation and proficiency of its chosen lab.” The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the defendants from continuing to misrepresent the accreditation of the lab and that the Bio-Badge home test kit is the same as used by “professionals” to test for formaldehyde in indoor air.

This lawsuit is the first case filed against Lumber Liquidators alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). The suit alleges that Lumber Liquidators and the testing companies it has hired engaged in a pattern of racketeering, through mail and wire fraud, to conceal the true concentrations of formaldehyde gas emissions from Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring by using a laboratory which is only accredited to analyze microorganisms (such as mold) and is not accredited to conduct analysis on chemicals, such as formaldehyde. The lawsuit alleges that Lumber Liquidators and the testing companies it hired have falsely misrepresented the nature of the lab’s accreditation, which is in environmental microbiology. The suit also alleges the defendants falsely represented that the home test kit offered by Lumber Liquidators is the “most effective way to measure the total level of formaldehyde in the home” and that the “Bio-Badge” is the “same sample screen used by professionals.”

The Plaintiffs allege that in addition to using the home test kits provided by Lumber Liquidators, two of the three plaintiffs hired professional companies to conduct indoor air testing in rooms where Lumber Liquidators’ laminate floors were installed, and that the results revealed excessive levels of formaldehyde gas several times above the minimum risk levels published by the U.S. EPA, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).

The Complaint alleges that when one of the plaintiffs, Craig Lyznick, informed Lumber Liquidators that the results of air sampling performed by a professional consultant in his home revealed formaldehyde gas levels of 0.046 parts per million (ppm), he was told by a Lumber Liquidators customer relations representative to retest using Lumber Liquidators’ home test kit, which is a plastic badge the user is instructed to hang four feet above the floor for 24 hours. Lyznick’s formaldehyde gas concentration of 0.046 ppm far exceeds California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s health-based recommendation that formaldehyde levels not exceed 0.027 ppm for an 8-hour exposure and 0.002 ppm for chronic exposure. The ATSDR has set its Minimal Risk Level (REL) for chronic (long term) exposure to formaldehyde at 0.008 ppm in order to minimize the risk of cancer.

“Plaintiffs are informed and believe that the offer by Lumber Liquidators to provide a free home indoor air test kit is a subterfuge designed to further Lumber Liquidators’ defense strategy to convince their customers that the Formaldehyde Flooring is ‘100% safe’ when it is not and to prevent their customers from learning the true levels of formaldehyde gas emissions from the Formaldehyde Flooring in their homes and to deceive customers into not demanding that the Formaldehyde Flooring be replaced with non-toxic laminate flooring at Lumber Liquidators’ expense,” according to the lawsuit.

This is the third lawsuit filed by Robertson & Associates, LLP, against Lumber Liquidators.

In March, Robertson & Associates filed lawsuits in the federal court in California and Nevada on behalf of consumers who purchased allegedly toxic laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators.

Consumers who purchased Chinese-made laminate flooring and were sent home test kits by Lumber Liquidators may contact Alex “Trey” Robertson, IV, senior partner at Robertson & Associates, LLP, at www.classactionlumberliquidators.com or by calling 818-851-3850.

About Robertson & Associates, LLP

Alex “Trey” Robertson, IV, Esq. is an experienced trial lawyer who holds an AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-review rating given only to those lawyers who demonstrate the highest level of ethical standards and legal ability. Alex also has been named a “Super Lawyer” for Southern California from 2011-2015. In 2014, he received “The Litigator Award” from the Trial Lawyers Board of Regents, a distinction given to only 1% of all attorneys, based upon verified settlement and verdict amounts. Alex is admitted to practice in California, Nevada, Colorado and Texas.

As one of the country’s top litigators of toxic mold cases, Alex has handled thousands of indoor air quality cases involving airborne toxins into his client’s homes. Alex has handled numerous high profile toxic cases, including those for celebrities Ed McMahon, Erin Brockovich, Ted Nugent, Vin Scully (L.A. Dodger’s announcer) and other celebrities, professional athletes and public figures. Many of his cases have been featured in local and national media, including CBS News “48 Hours” (twice), CBS News “The Early Show,” ABC News “Prime Time Live,” NBC News “Today Show,” New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, Forbes Magazine and CNN’s “Lou Dobbs” show.

With over 30 years of experience as a trial lawyer, Mr. Robertson has recovered more than $300,000,000 for consumers in construction defect and consumer class actions.