in Newswire Published on October 16, 2023

Target, Walmart Illegally Charged Sales Tax On Purchases of American Flags in Florida, Class Action Claims [DISMISSED]

Last Updated on November 1, 2023

Knopman v. Target Corporation et al.

Filed: October 16, 2023 ◆§ 9:23-cv-81389

A proposed class action alleges Target and Walmart have illegally and negligently charged sales tax on purchases of American flags in Florida.

Defendant(s)

Target Corporation Walmart, Inc. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP

Law(s)

Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act

State(s)

Florida

November 1, 2023 – American Flag Sales Tax Lawsuit Voluntarily Dismissed

The plaintiff in the proposed class action detailed on this page voluntarily dismissed the case without prejudice after a federal judge tossed her initial complaint as a “shotgun pleading.”

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The plaintiff filed a two-page notice of voluntary dismissal on October 27, 2023, the deadline she was given by United States District Judge Aileen M. Cannon by which to file an amended complaint.

Judge Cannon dismissed the lawsuit on October 17 in a two-page order, describing the plaintiff’s complaint as a “shotgun pleading,” which is a lawsuit that contains “multiple counts where each count adopts the allegations of all preceding counts, causing each successive count to carry all that came before and the last count to be a combination of the entire complaint.”

“The Court has an independent obligation to dismiss such pleadings and require repleader,” the judge wrote.

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A proposed class action alleges Target and Walmart have illegally and negligently charged sales tax on purchases of American flags in Florida.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

According to the 16-page complaint, Florida law provides that sales of the United States flag and Florida’s official state flag are exempt from sales tax. Nevertheless, the suit alleges, Target and Walmart charged the plaintiff, a Boca Raton resident, $0.89 and $1.12, respectively, in sales tax on the man’s recent purchases of the U.S. flag.

The suit accuses the retailers of engaging in “misappropriation/conversion” and of becoming “unjustly enriched” by charging sales tax in connection with an American-flag transaction in Florida.

By law, retailers operating in Florida cannot collect sales tax on the sale of the United States flag or any kits that include the U.S. flag and related accessories, such as a mounting bracket, standard, halyard and display instructions, the filing says.

The lawsuit claims Target and Walmart have collected millions in illegal sales tax charges on sales of the American flag in Florida. Neither retailer has remitted the U.S. flag sales taxes to Florida authorities, namely in an effort to “maximize profits at their customers’ expense and under the guise of a state-imposed tax,” the complaint says.

The lawsuit looks to cover any person who made an online purchase of a U.S. flag from a Target or Walmart in Florida and arranged for delivery of the flag in the state within the last four years, and who was charged an amount represented to be sales tax.

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