Lumber Liquidators to Pay $36 Million to Settle Flooring Lawsuits

(CN) — Lumber Liquidators agreed  Tuesday to pay $36 million to resolve claims brought by consumers who bought Chinese-manufactured laminate flooring reported to contain unsafe levels of formaldehyde.

The settlement of the cases, which were combined as two multi-district matters in the Eastern District of Virginia, calls for the company to pay $22 million in cash and provide 414 million in store-credit vouchers to people who bought  flooring between Jan. 1, 2009 and May 31, 2015.

The agreement still needs court approval. But in a statement, Steven Toll managing partner of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, the firm that represented many of the plaintiffs, said ““We think it’s a real value to the consumers.”

He also said that giving customers the option to receive a voucher to replace their floors may be a better value than a cash settlement in some cases.

The attorneys for the parties stressed that the settlement is not an admission of guilt.

Lumber Liquidators CEO Dennis Knowles said in a statement,  “We are pleased to have entered into this MOU, and welcome it as an important step toward resolving this legacy issue and moving forward.”