TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – An Alabama man, in a proposed class action lawsuit, accuses discount variety retailer Dollar General of routinely overcharging its customers for products at Florida stores.
Plaintiff Jon C. Capps filed his class action complaint against defendant Dolgencorp LLC, doing business as Dollar General, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
According to the federal court docket, Judge Robert L. Hinkle granted Dollar General’s motion to extend the deadline to respond to the complaint. The deadline was extended to August 14.
Capps accuses Dollar General, headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tenn., of violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, or FDUTPA.
The law prohibits “unfair methods of competition, unconscionable acts or practices, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.”
Capps, a resident of Henry County, Ala., claims to regularly shop at Dollar General.
In March 2024, he alleges he was shopping at a store in Havana, Fla., when he saw 2-liter Coke Zero advertised as “2 for $5.” He selected two bottles and proceeded to the cash register. While checking out, the two sodas rang up for $6 minus a 50-cent discount, resulting in a cost of $5.50.
Capps contends the company deceives customers into thinking they are getting a discounted or lower-priced item when, in fact, they are overcharged and ultimately paying more than the advertised price.
“Having successfully lured the customer to its shelf where Dollar General displays a lower or discounted price for merchandise, Dollar General seizes this opportunity to steer customers toward its cash registers where unsuspecting consumers are overcharged and overpay for the merchandise, resulting in a windfall for Dollar General,” the 12-page complaint states.
According to the filing, the Fortune 500 company has a history of overcharging customers in various states.
“While Dollar General advertises lower prices and discounted items, customers are routinely charged a higher dollar amount at the cash register than the lower price advertised on the shelf,” the complaint states. “This unfair and deceptive conduct is a common practice for Dollar General.”
In 2022, class action lawsuits were brought against Dollar General in New Jersey and Ohio, over similar allegations.
That same year, the Ohio Attorney General sued the retailer for the same deceptive overcharging scheme.
Then, in January 2023, a consumer protection class action was filed in New York against Dollar General for the same deceptive pricing scheme in New York stores.
Later that year, the Missouri Attorney General sued the company, seeking to “hold Dollar General accountable for its unfair and deceptive pricing practices” of overcharging customers.
In November 2023, the New Jersey Attorney General announced that its Division of Consumer Affairs reached a $1.2 million settlement to resolve allegations of merchandise pricing violations.
According to Capps’ complaint, as of 2025, Dollar General operates 1,081 stores in Florida. Many of its stores are situated in low-income, rural neighborhoods where consumers depend on Dollar General for their everyday staples, he notes.
“Reasonable consumers rely on Dollar General to honestly market and label its merchandise in a way that does not deceive reasonable consumers,” the complaint states.
Capps claims he does not know the exact size of the proposed class; however, he believes the number to be in excess of 100 and “into the thousands.”
He seeks certification of the class; appointment as class representative and his attorneys as class counsel; Dollar General be required to provide an accounting of all class members; the company provide an accounting of all overcharges during the class period; it be prevented from engaging in future FDUTPA violations; and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs.
J. Matthew Stephens of Birmingham, Ala., law firm Methvin Terrell Yancey Stephens & Miller PC is representing Capps in the proposed class action.
