California woman sues Safeway operator for toilet paper price gouging
San Francisco woman claims she paid $18.99 for toilet paper that usually costs $10 or $11
A San Francisco woman is suing Safeway's parent company in a California district court alleging price gouging on items including toilet paper in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
Eleisha Redmond's suit, dated June 3, is a proposed class action against Albertson's, an Idaho-based company that operates supermarkets including Safeway, Randalls and Vons.
"[O]n or about April 13, 2020, Plaintiff paid $18.99 for Angel Soft toilet paper normally priced at $10-11 at that same Safeway location," the suit reads. "Plaintiff brings this action to hold Defendant liable for its unlawful price increases during the COVID-19 pandemic."
FOX Business' inquiry to Albertson's was not returned at the time of publication.
Rolls of Scott toilet paper manufactured by Kimberly-Clark are seen on a supermarket shelf on March 17, 2016. (Photo by Richard Levine/Corbis via Getty Images)
Redmond's suit, dated June 3, claims Albertson's violates California law that "rightly prohibits profiteering from a public health crisis."
"Defendant's price increases were not directly attributable to additional costs imposed on Defendant by the suppliers of the such goods, and Defendant increased prices on many such goods in excess of 10% even when accounting for any additional costs and the markup Defendant customarily applies to the Protected Products," the suit alleges.
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Worries of price gouging have abounded since shoppers began panic buying in February and March because of the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, Amazon called for federal lawmakers to pass an anti-price-gouging law in May since the e-commerce has worked to block the practice on its platform.
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