CHICAGO, Dec. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On December 20, 2022, Pollock Cohen LLP filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Chicago against Defendant Groupon, Inc. The Plaintiffs in the case are two hair salons that seek to represent tens of thousands of small businesses across the country that are victims of Groupon’s scheme.
The lawsuit alleges that Groupon has created unauthorized web pages for tens of thousands of small businesses. These pages look and feel like regular Groupon pages, potentially confusing customers into believing that the listed businesses have relationships with Groupon. But these businesses are not Groupon partners, and they did not consent to appear on the Groupon platform.
The suit further alleges that Groupon uses these fake business listings to expand its own customer base by diverting search engine traffic. When potential customers search Google for these salons, restaurants, or gyms, the results often include a Groupon link. Clicking on that link, the customers may be met by a large pop-up ad prompting them to sign up for Groupon and receive a discount. Once the customer closes the pop-up and reaches the unauthorized page, they find that the business does not actually offer any Groupon deals. They can only search for deals at nearby businesses.
Worse, Groupon uses poorly written stock language on these landing pages that inaccurately describes small businesses. For instance, one plaintiff is a high-end hair salon that takes only a limited number of clients, and only on an appointment-only basis. Yet, Groupon describes the salon as “a day spa” that “happily accepts walk-in appointments.”
“Big businesses cannot misappropriate the hard-earned reputation and goodwill of small businesses,” said Raphael Janove, who is leading the case along with Adam Pollock and George Krebs of Manhattan-based Pollock Cohen LLP. “Simply put, small businesses do not exist to line the pockets of tech companies,” emphasized Adam Pollock. And George Krebs added, “Groupon must stop profiting off of small businesses, and it must cease falsely and inaccurately describing these businesses on the Groupon website.”
For more information, please visit https://www.pollockcohen.com/cases-investigations/groupon.
The federal class action complaint against Groupon is available here.
Contact:
Raphael Janove
rjanove@pollockcohen.com
215-667-8607
