Paint Sample Cards. Courtesy of Home Depot Facebook

LOS ANGELES—A lawsuit was filed against The Home Depot USA Inc. on several counts including alleged unfair business practices, misleading advertising and violating air pollution limits.

On June 3, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Consumer Protection and Environmental Justice Section, as well as other district attorney offices in San Bernardino and Riverside, Calif. among others, filed the lawsuit against Home Depot. According to statements made by these offices, Home Depot was “misleading its customers with false information about its products and, in doing so, sought an unfair business advantage over its competitors.”

According to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, responsible for air pollution control in L.A., Orange County, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, conducted the investigation which resulted in filing the lawsuit. Home Depot had allegedly been selling paints and coatings which contained high levels of smog-forming pollutants to customers from 2006 to 2010. Two dozen stores were found with the products on their shelves, some reportedly even after management had been asked to take them down.

“Home Depot offered for sale and/or sold containers of clear wood coatings, lacquers, paints, and other coatings that violated air quality regulations,” according to the press release.

These specific paints and coatings are, as the statement reports, apparently responsible “for 23 tons per day of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the Southland, an amount greater than that emitted by approximately 1.5 million cars.” These can lead to health issues related with the respiratory system.

The Home Depot is recognized as a “green” company and is one of largest home improvement chains in the region.

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