BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — The attorney general has reached a $1 million settlement with Dollar General after an investigation into 20 stores in Southwest Ohio and found prices on shelves were lower than at the registers.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took Dollar General to court in Butler County a year ago after his office received 12 more complaints statewide. He was seeking penalties of $25,000 per violation, restitution for shoppers who have been harmed and an injunction to stop the pricing differential. He alleged “unfair and deceptive acts and practices” and “bait advertising.”
Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Oster recently outlined the settlement reached in the case writing Dollar General will pay the AG’s office $750,000 which will be distributed to Ohio food banks or other charitable organization “to be used solely for the purchase and distribution of food or personal care items.”
Oster noted the payment was the best way to handle things since “it would be nearly impossible to identify all or even most such consumers.”
Dollar General will also pay $250,000 in penalties and reimbursement for investigative costs.
Oster wrote the settlement does not mean Dollar General is admitting any wrongdoing.
“Defendants represent that they have entered into this order for the purpose of settling and compromising disputed claims without having to incur the burdens and expense of contested litigation,” Oster wrote. “Defendants deny liability as to all claims.”
When Yost filed the lawsuit he condemned Dollar General.
“Everything we buy these days costs more — Ohioans can ill-afford businesses that draw people in with the promise of low prices only to deceive them at the checkout counter,” Yost said. “This seems like a company trying to make an extra buck and hoping no one will notice. We’ve not only noticed but are taking action to stop it.”
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