Family Dollar’s rodent-related repercussions keep piling up.
The Dollar Tree subsidiary continues to feel the weight of monetary penalties and promises made because of a rodent infestation that compromised FDA-regulated food items in a West Memphis, Ark., distribution center.
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Items from that warehouse were shipped to the chain’s stores in various states across the U.S., including in Tennessee. Now, Family Dollar is set to pay Tennessee $1.125 million in a settlement related to the products the company sent to stores across the state.
Tennessee’s attorney general asserted that, after conducting an investigation, the state determined some or all of the products brought into Tennessee Family Dollar stores from the Arkansas distribution center violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Family Dollar Stores denies any wrongdoing or violations of that law, according to the terms of the settlement.
In exchange for the payment, the state’s attorney general has agreed not to prosecute Family Dollar under the TCPA on this issue. Once the settlement is finalized, Family Dollar will have 45 days to pay the state.
The terms of the settlement also dictate that Family Dollar stores are prohibited from “representing that goods sold at Family Dollar stores in Tennessee are ‘original’ or ‘new’ if they are materially deteriorated.”
That the company declined to accept wrongdoing in Tennessee differs from its course of action on the federal side; last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Family Dollar had entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor count of causing FDA-regulated products to become adulterated in unsanitary warehouse conditions. That plea resulted in nearly $42 million worth of fines for the value store chain.
The Tennessee attorney general’s office noted that the settlement money it negotiated with Family Dollar is separate from the federal penalty the company was assigned by the federal government.
Jonathan Skrmetti, Tennessee’s attorney general, said the state’s priority is ensuring consumers’ protection and safety.
“When a mom or dad buys groceries for their kids, they should never have to wonder whether some nasty critter got the first bite,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “No matter the family budget, whether a discount shop or not, every Tennessean deserves confidence in the food they buy. This settlement holds Family Dollar accountable and protects Tennessee families from being sold harmful or mislabeled food.”
Dollar Tree did not return Sourcing Journal’s request for comment on the settlement in Tennessee. Last year, the company re-opened a distribution center in West Memphis, Ark., which it said would cost more than $100 million.
