Fake Sale and Never-Ending Sale Lawsuits: Hanna Andersson, Old Navy, Mattress Firm, and Your Rights

A fake sale, sometimes called fictitious reference pricing, happens when a seller shows a higher "original," "regular," or "compare at" price next to a sale price, but the item was rarely or never actually sold at the higher price. The discount looks big, but it is not real. A never-ending sale is a version where the same items are "on sale" nearly all the time, often with urgent language like "today only" or "ends soon."

These cases are brought as consumer protection class actions. The core claim is that shoppers bought, or paid more, because they believed they were getting a bargain.

Hanna Andersson

Hudson v. Hanna Andersson LLC, No. 3:26-cv-00643, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, where Hanna Andersson is based. It was filed in spring 2026 after law firms had been investigating the brand's pricing since at least January 2026. The plaintiffs claim Hanna Andersson listed inflated prices and then advertised steady percentage-off discounts, so that the "sale" price was really the regular price. Hanna Andersson has not been found liable, and it is expected to contest the claims.

Old Navy and Gap

Fantasia King Bell of Stockton, California filed a class action against The Gap Inc. on April 8, 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court. The complaint claims Old Navy inflates reference prices on nearly all of its merchandise, so shoppers pay what is really the everyday price while believing they got a deal. It also says Old Navy kept the same practices after two earlier settlements. The earlier case, Barba v. Old Navy, was preliminarily approved on December 2, 2021 by the San Francisco Superior Court and combined four lawsuits covering about 34 million customers. Old Navy denied the allegations in that case and has not been found liable in the new one.

"Sale ends tonight" emails in Washington

A related wave targets fake urgency in marketing emails. In April 2025, the Washington Supreme Court held in Brown v. Old Navy that the state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act bars false or misleading information in the subject line of a commercial email, and each violating email sent to a Washington resident can carry $500 in statutory damages. Lawyers tracking these cases report that more than 60 suits followed against retailers, including Macy's, Nike, Skechers, and Ulta Beauty. Washington residents who received "final hours" emails for sales that kept running may be covered by these cases.

Mattress Firm (California)

In Hampton v. Mattress Firm, Case No. 25CU003462C in the Superior Court of California, the plaintiff claimed Mattress Firm deceptively advertised mattress discounts on MattressFirm.com. Mattress Firm denied wrongdoing but agreed to a settlement for California online buyers. That case shows how these claims usually end.

In the Hanna Andersson case, the next steps are a response to the complaint, likely a motion to dismiss or to strike class claims, and later a fight over class certification. Nothing has been decided as of September 2026.

The Mattress Firm settlement covered people who bought mattresses from MattressFirm.com while in California from August 1, 2020 through July 16, 2024, with up to $5,476,000 set aside for settlement awards. The claim deadline was August 5, 2025. Class members who did nothing were set to receive store credit automatically.

Fake pricing suits are filed against retailers regularly, in both federal and state courts. Each depends on proving how often the item was actually sold at the "original" price, which usually requires the retailer's own sales data.

You may be part of a proposed class if you:

• Bought an item from the retailer during the class period alleged in the complaint.
• Saw and relied on a displayed discount or former price, such as a strikethrough price or a "was $X" tag.
• Paid the sale price for an item that, the lawsuit claims, was rarely or never sold at the higher price.

Some cases are limited to one state, often California, because state law is stronger there. Others seek nationwide classes. The final definition is up to the court.

Washington residents are a special case. Under the state's email law, the claim is about the misleading subject line itself, so the question is whether you received the emails while living in Washington, not only whether you bought something. Keep those emails rather than deleting them, and note the dates you received them.

You probably do not qualify if you bought only full-priced items with no discount shown, bought outside the class period, or bought for resale. Returning the item for a full refund can also weaken a claim.

Not sure whether a class definition fits you? See our guide on how to know if you qualify.

Fake sale settlements rarely refund the full purchase price. Courts and defendants argue that shoppers still got a product worth something close to what they paid. The typical result is a flat payment or store credit per item or per purchase.

In the Mattress Firm settlement, each class member could receive $40 per mattress, as either $40 in cash or $40 in store credit. People who filed a claim could choose cash; those who did nothing received credit.

If the Hanna Andersson case settles, a similar structure is likely: a modest payment or voucher, possibly larger with proof of purchase. Receipts and online order histories make a difference, so save them. Our guide on why class action payouts are often small explains the math.

Nothing here predicts an outcome. A case can be dismissed and pay nothing.

The FTC's Guides Against Deceptive Pricing

The Federal Trade Commission's guides, at 16 C.F.R. section 233.1, say a former price comparison is legitimate only if the former price was the actual, bona fide price at which the item was offered to the public on a regular basis for a reasonably substantial period of time. If the former price was inflated to make a later reduction look large, the bargain is "a false one." Consumers cannot sue directly under the FTC guides, but courts and state laws often follow them.

California's three-month rule

California Business and Professions Code section 17501 bars advertising a former price unless it was the prevailing market price within the three months immediately before the ad, or the ad clearly states when that price prevailed. California plaintiffs pair this with the False Advertising Law, the Unfair Competition Law, and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

Other states

Oregon, where Hanna Andersson is based, and many other states have unfair trade practices laws that bar false or misleading statements about price reductions. The fake sale theory is similar everywhere: the displayed discount must be real.

For more on hidden and misleading pricing claims, see our guide to types of class actions.

You do not have to wait for a lawsuit to protect yourself. A few habits make fictitious discounts easier to see.

• Check the price history. If an item is "40% off" every time you visit, the sale price is probably the real price. Browser price trackers and saved screenshots make this easy to confirm.
• Watch the calendar. A "limited time" sale that runs week after week, or a "final hours" email followed by an extension, is a warning sign, and in Washington it may violate state email law.
• Read the fine print on "compare at" prices. Some retailers compare to a price charged by other sellers or a manufacturer's suggested price, not their own former price. Under the FTC guides, those comparisons also need to reflect real prices in the market.
• Compare with other stores. If the "original" price is far higher than anyone else charges, the discount may be inflated.
• Keep the evidence. Order confirmations often show both prices. If you later join a case, that record can raise your payment.

Under the FTC guides, a former price is not fictitious merely because no sales were made at it, but the item must have been openly and actively offered at that price for a reasonably substantial period in good faith. That is the line these lawsuits test.

• Hanna Andersson: no claim deadline, because no settlement exists. If one is reached, the court will approve a notice with dates.
• Mattress Firm (California): the claim deadline passed on August 5, 2025.
• Your own claim: each state has its own statute of limitations. In California, Unfair Competition Law claims generally have four years and Consumers Legal Remedies Act claims three years. Other states vary.

A pending class action may pause the deadline for people inside the proposed class, but that protection is not guaranteed if the class is never certified.

1. Save your order history from the retailer's website or app, including the listed "original" price.
2. Screenshot sale pages and keep promotional emails with dates. A pattern of repeated "limited time" sales is useful evidence.
3. Do not pay anyone to join a class action. Class claims are free, and settlement claims are filed only on the official settlement website.
4. Watch your email for a court-approved notice if a class is certified or a settlement is reached.

If you regularly bought from a retailer that always seems to be on sale, independent attorneys who handle deceptive pricing cases can review what you bought. A free case review takes about two minutes. For related pricing claims, see our pages on the Target tariff refund lawsuit and dollar store overcharges.