Case Against Lightbulb Marketers Shines A Light On FTC Enforcement

The FTC announced recently that it is mailing almost a half million checks, totaling more than $14.4 million, to consumers who purchased Lights of America brand LED light bulbs.  This announcement follows a suit initiated by the FTC in 2010 in the Central District of California against the company and two of its chief executives for violating federal law by overstating the light output and life expectancy of their LED bulbs, and falsely comparing the brightness of their LED bulbs with that of other light bulbs.  Following a four-day bench trial in 2012, the district court entered detailed findings of the defendants' false and deceptive claims.  Prior to trial, the court had already found that the defendants made unsubstantiated claims that their LED bulbs provided the same or comparable light output as incandescent bulbs.