- The Washington Times - Tuesday, December 22, 2015

A Houston man is targeting discount chain Dollar General with a class-action suit accusing the retailer of practicing deceptive trade practices by touting a store-brand motor oil allegedly unsuitable for use in the majority of cars currently on the road.

Michael Deck filed a class action complaint Monday through his attorney in federal court that takes aim at three types of low-cost motor oil marketed by Dollar General under its own “DG” branding and sold alongside competing products made by well-known companies including Pennzoil and Castrol.

The suit alleges that Dollar General has deceived its customers in marketing the store-brand motor oil by obscuring a warning placed on the back of each bottle in which its stated that the product shouldn’t be used in cars made this side of the 20th century.

Documents filed in federal court this week by Mr. Deck, who claims he purchased a bottle from a Dollar General store in Houston last month, include close-up images of Dollar General’s 10W-30 and 10W-4 store-brand motor oil which state on the back “not suitable for use in most gasoline powered automotive engines built after 1988” and “may not provide adequate protection against the build-up of engine sludge.”

A separate formula sold by the store, DG SAE 30, contains warnings that state the lube is admittedly “not suitable for use in most gasoline powered automotive engines built after 1930” and “use in modern engines may cause unsatisfactory engine performance or equipment harm.”

“Few, if any, Dollar General customers drive vehicles for which these products are safe, and the use of the term ’older’ is a relative term that does not inform a reasonable consumer that these motor oils are not safe for cars manufactured within the past 27 years, or in the case of Dollar General’s DG SAE 30, the past 85 years,” wrote David Pace, an attorney for Mr. Peck. 

“Dollar General’s entire line of low-cost motor oil is unsuitable for the modern-day vehicles driven by its customers and has no business being sold, except that Dollar General is successfully deceiving a sufficient number of customers to make this fraudulent practice worthwhile. It is unfair, unlawful, deceptive and fraudulent for Dollar General to distribute, market and sell an entire line of motor oil that is unfit for, and presents concrete dangers to, the automobiles driven by the vast majority of its customers,” he added.

Research firm IHS Automotive concluded in July that the the average age among the 257.9 million cars on U.S. roads was at a record 11.5 years, with roughly 14 million registered autos being older than 25.

The suit alleges Dollar General has engaged in deceptive trade practices in violation of Texas law, as well as breach of warranty and unjust enrichment. The company did not immediately return The Washington Times’ request for comment Tuesday.

Dollar General was operating 12,198 stores in 43 states as of January, with roughly one-tenth located in Texas, the lawsuit states. A pretrial hearing has been scheduled for May 13 before Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. in the Southern District of Texas.

• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.

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