Oregon man sues Hobby Lobby, claims puzzle's promise of 'free gift' broke law

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – An Oregon man who lives in Jackson County is suing Hobby Lobby and a company that sells puzzles after he claims a puzzle he purchased at a store did not contain the free gift it promised. 

Raymond L. Churba filed a complaint Monday against Hobby Lobby Stores and Allied Products Corporation, which owns Springbok puzzles and is asking for $600. 

According to the lawsuit, Churba purchased a Springbok puzzle at a Hobby Lobby store in Jackson County in December 2022 after seeing that the puzzle box advertised a “free gift” offer. 

The offer on the puzzle told Churba to visit a webpage Springbok website and enter a unique code to claim the gift, the lawsuit said. Churba visited the website and was prompted to enter his name, address, date of birth, email address and telephone number. 

After doing this, the lawsuit said that Churba learned the “free gift” was a code that gave him a 10% discount on his next purchase from Springbok. 

Churba is suing because he believes that by not providing him with an actual gift, Hobby Lobby and Allied Products Corporation are violating provisions of the Oregon Unfair Trade Practices Act and an Oregon law that says a person’s business cannot make a false or misleading statement about a prize. 

Churba is filing three claims for relief and is asking for a total of $600, plus attorney fees. He also asks for an order that prevents the two companies from offering a free gift that violates Oregon law in the future, according to the lawsuit. 

Hobby Lobby and Allied Products Corporation did not reply to KOIN 6 News’ requests for comments.