Suit claims Jordan’s promotion a lottery
Retailer offered refunds if Red Sox win World Series
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, August 16, 2007
BOSTON — A man once convicted of running an illegal lottery has sued Jordan’s Furniture on the same charge, claiming that its promotion promising to give away furniture if the Boston Red Sox win the World Series was against the law.
The suit could call into question the legality of other promotions of this sort, which at least three furniture retailers have tried in the past year.
Joseph Frate filed the complaint in Middlesex Superior Court last month, seeking treble damages, or triple the value of the payments made by Jordan’s customers during the promotion period of March 7 through April 16.
That’s when the retailer, the official furniture store of baseball’s Boston Red Sox, advertised its “Monster Deal,” saying purchases made during that period would be free if the Sox win the Series this year.
Jordan’s leader, Eliot Tatelman, said when the event occurred that it was insured for more than $20 million and that he expected sales to top that mark. If that was indeed the case, Frate’s damages request would equate to more than $60 million.
“Nothing in the lawsuit would in any way affect Jordan’s commitment to honor the terms of the promotion,” said Heather Copelas, spokeswoman for the four-store, Taunton, Mass.-based retailer, part of Berkshire Hathaway’s furniture division.
She declined additional comment. In earlier news stories, Tatelman said that attorneys who reviewed the promotion determined it was legal.
Frate was not a Jordan’s customer but filed the complaint under a law that essentially says participants in a lottery have three months from the date of purchase to sue. After that time has passed, the law allows third parties to sue.
In court documents, the lawsuit complaint says that a lottery exists when a scheme or promotion includes a price, a prize and the element of chance, apparently suggesting that the Jordan’s prize would be the consumer purchases that could be refunded if the Red Sox win.
A report by the Boston Globe said Frate was convicted in 1987 of operating an illegal lottery and possessing gambling devices that resembled slot machines in which customers could insert a coin, see flashing lights and get electronically generated numbers that could then be used to play the official state lottery. He was sentenced to two years probation and a $300 fine.
Frate’s complaint said Jordan’s promotion was “more egregious” because it required a purchase in order to participate. The complaint also noted that the state has not pursued action against Jordan’s, unlike it did with Frate.
“The Commonwealth’s disparate treatment (of the cases) might well be explained by the fact that Jordan’s is a large corporation that is overwhelmingly popular with the public, as opposed to Mr. Frate, who was an ordinary citizen — which sends a message to the public that Jordan’s is above the law,” it said.
As of early this week, Jordan’s had not filed a formal response to the complaint.
