Yahoo Finance Lowe’s home improvement accused of sabotaging a former vendor, lawsuit says
Home improvement giant Lowe’s is being accused of trying to sabotage a former vendor that supplied bathroom vanities and fireplaces to the company, according to North Carolina Business Court records.
The Mooresville-based business is being sued by Greentouch USA and related entity Greentouch Home Ltd.—Hong Kong after a business relationship from 2018 to 2023 went bad.
Lowe’s was Greentouch’s largest customer with sales of over $446 million during those years. Greentouch USA was formed in Florida and operates out of Mooresville.
Greentouch filed a lawsuit in Iredell County Superior Court in February against Lowe’s and associated LG Sourcing, Inc. for matters such as breach of contract, unfair and deceptive trade practices, defamation and punitive damages. It was assigned to the NC Business Court, which handles complex business litigation.
Lowe’s denied the claims, according to a request for dismissal from the company.
After months of back-and-forth between lawyers, Business Court Judge Mark Davis filed an order and opinion on Lowe’s partial motion to dismiss in early October. Davis dismissed Greentouch’s claims for defamation and punitive damages. Greentouch may continue to seek compensation along with other claims at a later stage in the court battle.
He denied Lowe’s motion to dismiss other claims from Greentouch. This involves allegations of interfering with business, starting financial setbacks and unfair/deceptive trade practices.
In 2020, Lowe’s and Greentouch entered into a three-year supplier contract from January 2021 through December 2023. When the COVID pandemic hit, Lowe’s began “squeezing” Greentouch as it tried to find new ways to “bolster its bottom-line in a time of crisis,” according to Greentouch claims in court records.
Greentouch claims Lowe’s worked to undermine and destroy its business financially so it couldn’t perform under the contract with Lowe’s. Another goal was for Lowe’s to take over product manufacturing itself or enter into low-cost agreements with other vendors, Greentouch said in the suit.
And Lowe’s made false claims that an excessive number of Greentouch’s products were defective, according to allegations in court records. But the products were resold to third parties and Lowe’s kept the revenue, Greentouch added.
Representatives from Lowe’s and Greentouch did not respond to requests for comment from The Charlotte Observer.
The Charlotte Business Journal first reported details about the case.
About Lowe’s
Lowe’s, a Fortune 500 company, is the second largest home improvement retailer in the U.S. behind Home Depot.
It operates more than 1,700 stores in the U.S. The market capitalization for the publicly traded company was more than $120 billion as of July 2022, according to court records. Lowe’s employs 300,000 workers, including 11,000 in the Charlotte region.
