Attorney General Griffin Announces Settlement with Family Dollar for Overcharging Customers

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today announced a $63 million settlement with Family Dollar for charging customers more for products than what the company had advertised and listed on its shelves. The settlement was secured in collaboration with 17 state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission. Griffin issued the following statement:

“For years, Family Dollar has been dishonest with its customers about the price of goods sold at its stores. Hardworking people across the country, including Arkansans, have paid higher prices at the checkout counter than what is advertised on Family Dollar’s shelves and in its print and digital advertising.

“This deceitful pattern is a betrayal of trust and has dire consequences for Family Dollar’s customers, many of whom shop there specifically because they have limited means.

“As part of this settlement, Family Dollar will create a nationwide Consumer Redress Fund of $40 million for eligible consumers, which will be managed by a third-party administrator. Eligible consumers will be those who purchased items at a Family Dollar store between January 1, 2023, and October 1, 2026. To submit a claim, consumers will need to go to www.familydollar.com, where a claim form will be posted within 14 days of the federal court entering the proposed settlement order.

“In addition, Family Dollar will establish a $20 million nationwide discount program that will provide consumers with a 15% discount on eligible merchandise. The settlement also includes injunctive relief prohibiting Family Dollar from misrepresenting the price of its goods or services and requiring the company to establish and implement a pricing accuracy program that is independently assessed and annually certified. Also as part of the settlement, the State of Arkansas will receive $95,321.”

In addition to Attorney General Griffin and the FTC, the enforcement action against Family Dollar included the attorneys general of Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin.

To read a copy of the complaint against Family Dollar, click here.

To read a copy of the proposed settlement order, click here.

To download a PDF version of this release, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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