Companies and Brands

Is This Ruling Lumber Liquidators' Big Break?

Chris Lange

Published: August 17, 2016 9:50 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 4:32 am

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL) might finally be off the hook with concerns over its carcinogenic flooring material as a Superior Court in California has issued a ruling on its lawsuit. Ultimately the court ruled in favor of the company. Lumber Liquidators has been under fire from all sides over this issue and it will gladly welcome a reprieve from this harassment.

At the end of June 2014, Lumber Liquidators’ stock was above the $75 mark. Since that time it has fallen as far as $10. However, with this positive ruling shares finally have the potential to exit the holding pattern they have been in over the past year.

In 2014, Global Community Monitor and Sunshine Park filed a lawsuit claiming that Lumber Liquidators failed to provide a Proposition 65 formaldehyde warning to California consumers. The court ruled that the plaintiffs’ evidence failed to support their claims, and the settlement agreement requires the plaintiffs to pay Lumber Liquidators $100,000 as reimbursement for costs.

John Presley, CEO of Lumber Liquidators, commented:

The verdict in our favor in the Proposition 65 case and the related settlement requiring plaintiffs to reimburse our costs are additional steps forward in the tremendous progress our Company has made over the past several months. We have strengthened Lumber Liquidators across every area of our organization, including implementing significant enhancements to our sourcing and compliance practices, and look forward to continuing to deliver products that are compliant with California’s environmental standards. As a company, we remain committed to operating with integrity and delivering the highest quality products to our customers.

Shares of Lumber Liquidators were last seen up more than 5% at $17.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $13.09 and a 52-week trading range of $10.01 to $21.74.