Tennessee AG Sues Furniture Retailers

April 4, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Legal on April 5, 2010

Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper filed a lawsuit against two Nashville furniture stores and their owners for allegedly failing to deliver goods or make refunds to consumers.

The lawsuit names Amanda Lee Drew, Timothy Bryan Drew and Anita Renee Drew who did business as WOW Furniture until it closed in 2009. Timothy and Anita Drew also owned and operated Drew€™s Furniture Depot a/k/a Drew's Furniture, also named in the lawsuit, from 2001 to 2008. 
 
Consumers complained that the defendants offered to accept furniture orders from their customers using a store catalog, accepting advance payment, but that they failed to deliver the promised furniture and refused to refund the money of those who did not receive their orders. 

"These companies have disappointed many consumers who bought furniture and who did not receive what was promised," Cooper said in a press release. "With these court filings, we seek to prevent future harm to other Tennesseans and are working to obtain refunds for those who did not get the items for which they paid."
 
The State asks the Court to order those named to permanently stop engaging in the furniture business in Tennessee and seeks to obtain refunds for consumers. Additionally, the State requests civil penalties and the freezing of Timothy Drew's and Anita Drew's assets. The State also seeks to revoke the defendants' business licenses authorizing them to engage in the furniture business in Tennessee.  
 
Because Amanda Drew, who did business as WOW Furniture, filed bankruptcy in the United States Middle District Court on June 23, 2009, the State may not be able collect money from her unless the bankruptcy is dismissed.  
 
To date, consumers have filed 89 complaints against these two furniture stores with the Better Business Bureau, the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs and even the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District.