CASE OF INTEREST

Date: August 19, 2003
Contacts: Justin Puerta, Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, (916) 874-7791;
Daryl Roberts, Napa County District Attorney’s Office, (707) 253-4493

SACRAMENTO AND NAPA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICES SETTLE MISLEADING ADVERTISING CASE WITH KAY BEE TOYS

Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully and Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein announced today a nearly $1.2 million dollar joint settlement of a lawsuit which was filed in Napa County Superior Court against Southdale K.B. Toys, Inc., et. al. (Kay Bee Toys), for misleading and deceptive comparative pricing.

Under the stipulated judgment, filed in Napa Superior Court, Kay Bee Toys will pay $400,000 in civil penalties, and costs of $100,000. The judgment also requires Kay Bee Toys to provide $107,000 worth of gift cards to be distributed among the 58 Child Protective Services Departments around the state, for them to redeem at Kay Bee store locations for toys and games to be used in their departments, and it requires Kay Bee Toys to donate $580,000 worth of toys, games, and/or hobby materials to a recognized charity or charities operating in California.

The judgment also imposes numerous requirements and prohibitions on Kay Bee Toys to insure that the practices the district attorneys complained about will not be repeated in the future. Deputy District Attorney, Justin G. Puerta, Jr., from the Sacramento County Consumer Protection Division, explained that the judgment provides for a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants from engaging in misleading and deceptive comparative advertising practices. “This will stop defendants from comparing prices which appear to be a sales price, when in fact the lower price is merely the defendant’s regular price,” Puerta said.

Deputy District Attorney Daryl Roberts, from Napa County Consumer Protection Division, added, "We're especially pleased that Kay Bee agreed to provide the Child Protective Services Departments in California's 58 counties with thousands of dollars of toys and games. This will greatly assist them in performing their important function of protecting California's children."

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