Shook Defends Against Putative Class Action Claiming Home Improvement Retailer "Shorted" Mulch Bags

Shook, Hardy & Bacon represented Home Depot in a consolidated putative class action alleging that mulch manufacturers and retailers violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by selling mulch bags that were systemically “short” of the volume stated on the label. Our attorneys developed a strategy to defeat class certification based on the class representative going into bankruptcy during the lawsuit, which led to the case settling on very favorable terms. The court sustained defendants’ objections to a proposed substitute class representative. Top Branch Environmental Services, Inc. v. Hoodridge Unlimited, Inc., et al., No. 08-cv-60767 (S.D. Fla. July 10, 2009).