Orlando Firm Taking Action Against Lumber Liquidators

A man walks past a Lumber Liquidatorsstore Thursday in Philadelphia. Retailer Lumber Liquidators says it stands by its products and will pay for the safety testing of laminate floors for qualifying customers.

TAMPA | Jacqueline Shabel said the smell hit her "like a ton of bricks."

A chemical odor oozed from 59 boxes of her new Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring last month. It filled her Tampa house and burned her nostrils, and she knew something was wrong.

"It was really, really strong," she said. "Just gnarly."

She opened her windows and waited for the sun to rise before calling the Lutz location where she bought the laminate.

"I spoke to them and they said, Oh yeah, don't worry about it,' kind of insinuating new car smell," she said.

So the California woman went through with the installation the latest addition to her local vacation home's remodel. But it still smelled.

Three days later, 60 Minutes reported the company's Chinese-made laminate flooring had high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogen, though the company denies the claim.

"I have a 5-year-old son," Shabel said. "It was that horror as a parent."

Shabel isn't alone. An Orlando law firm is seeking class-action status after filing a federal complaint against Lumber Liquidators Friday on behalf of an Orlando couple. The firm, Knopf Bigger, is fielding calls from other concerned consumers.

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Orlando Firm Taking Action Against Lumber Liquidators