Countywide
The Vons supermarket chain has agreed to stop advertising “unlimited” double coupons when coupon use is restricted and to halt the misrepresentation of food price surveys conducted by the California Public Interest Research Group, City Atty. John Witt has announced.
The agreement settles a lawsuit filed by the San Diego city attorney’s office and the Los Angeles district attorney’s office against Vons Companies Inc., owner of the state’s largest supermarket chain.
In advertisements, Vons had claimed it was the winner of the CalPIRG food price survey. In fact, it finished second.
Witt also had contended that the unlimited-coupon claim was “simply false and therefore expressly unlawful under California law,” because Vons had placed “limitations on the number, value and type of sales” to which the special promotion applied.
Vons admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, according to an announcement this week by Witt’s office, and agreed to pay $35,000 in civil penalties and court costs.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
