A new class action lawsuit has placed Avenue , operated by FullBeauty Brands Inc. , under the spotlight, after allegations of illegal phantom markdowns and deceptive pricing hit the retailer in California state court on July 22, 2025 . The Lawsuit’s Core Allegations On July 22, 2025 , plaintiff Annette Cody filed Cody v.
FullBeauty Brands Inc., Case No. 5:25-cv-01334-KK-SHK in the Superior Court for the State of California , County of Riverside . Cody alleges that FullBeauty Brands manipulated discount displays
on Avenue.com by using “fake discounts” and inflating reference prices, when it is not, resulting in a sham price disparity that is illegal under California law. A case in point: Cody bought a V Cut Out Top for $9.98 —allegedly discounted from a “strike-through” reference price of $59.95 .
Cody claims the reference price was not the “prevailing market price” within the previous 90 days , nor did Avenue.com disclose when it was relevant. Monitoring the Price Scheme Her attorneys, Scott J. Ferrell and Victoria C.
Knowles of Pacific Trial Attorneys APC , monitored Avenue.com and “confirmed that the product was not offered for sale at the reference price during the relevant period”.
The complaint asserts that Avenue.com is aware that the prices for its products are fake and artificially inflated, and intentionally uses them in a deceptive pricing scheme to increase sales and profits by misleading consumers into believing they are buying products at a substantial discount…
