The alleged deception: The retailers market and sell the hefty lumber as 4x4s without specifying that the boards actually measure 3½ inches by 3½ inches...The retailers say the allegations are bogus. It is common knowledge and longstanding industry practice, they say, that names such as 2x4 or 4x4 do not describe the width and thickness of those pieces of lumber. — Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
Taking literal interpretations to a new, class-action-lawsuit extreme, a group of men are suing Home Depot and Menard's for failing to specifically label their 4 X 4s as being 3.5" X 3.5" (one can only imagine the litigious hurt and fury when these men discover that Aunt Jemima's Syrup is not made by Aunt Jemima). Even the lawyers representing the men admit that 4 X 4 is a trade name that does not literally represent the dimensions of the 4 X 4s, but make this argument instead:
“It’s difficult to say that for a reasonable consumer, when they walk into a store and they see a label that says 4x4, that that’s simply — quote unquote — a trade name,” Turin said in an interview.
Turin said his clients don’t argue that the retailers’ 4x4s (and, in the Menards case, a 1x6 board as well) are not the correct size under the standards published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The product labels, however, should disclose that those are “nominal” designations and not actual sizes, Turin said.
19 Comments
no, it shouldn't. only a martian doesn't know 2x4 is 1.5x.3.5, because is a worldwide standard. f*****g lowlife lawyers.
It's 38x89mm
4x4 = 3.5"x3.5"
4"x4" = 4"x4"
The suit will be thrown out when they measure a 4x4 and find that is 3-9/16" x 3-9/16".
Imagine if a bunch of women got together and sued because they were told something was X inches long and it ended up being smaller....
The reason women are so bad at math. "This" is 9-1/2".
ha!
Thanks for playing along, you guys! It just seems like that joke *has* to be made somewhere around this lawsuit.
This is why I know exactly how big it is from the tip of my thumb to the tip of my first finger... so I can measure lumber.
A suit by men who obviously have no business buying lumber.
Miles- I worked with you years ago with Tom Mathews
What are you doing now?
Going to bring a scale to McD to weigh my Quarterpounder $$$!
It's rigged.
Pretty sure a common person doesn't know a 2x4 isn't an actual 2x4. Probably majority of people honestly.
outside of my wife, I don't think I could name a single person who does not know this.
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