text: A New Jersey housewife claims retailer Century 21 ripped her off for 80 cents — and she’s making a $5 million federal case of it. 
   
   Tova Gerson, a 32-year-old Bergenfield mom of four, yesterday filed the lawsuit, claiming the department store “unjustly enriched” itself and ripped off customers with a coupon-fraud “scheme.” 
   
   In Manhattan federal court papers, Gerson claims she used a coupon, good for $5 off a $50-or- 
   
   more purchase during a Jan. 10 shopping spree at Century 21’s Paramus, NJ, store. 
   
   Gerson plunked down a total of $106.82, before tax, for items that included faux-suede moccasins, a child’s dress, stuffed toy and little girls’ lace tights, underwear and T-shirts, according to the filing. 
   
   But then, on Jan. 19, Gerson returned a $17.97 kid’s ensemble, claiming it was the wrong color, the filing states. Century 21 refunded her money — minus the 80 cents she’d saved, on a pro-rated basis, by using the discount coupon. 
   
   Gerson, a hat designer who sells her creations from her suburban home, flipped her lid. 
   
   Century 21’s take-back, she claims, deprived her of the “full benefit” of the $5-off coupon. 
   
   Gerson argued that if she’d known she’d lose coupon credit on returned items, she would have purchased them separately. 
   
   The class-action suit, which names no other plaintiffs, seeks at least $5 million, and contends that “hundreds or thousands” of other shoppers could also be hurt by the store’s “fraudulent . . . [and] misleading” promotion. 
   
   The store did not immediately return a call for comment. 
   
   Gerson’s suit was filed by her lawyer dad, Harry Katz, who has a history of going after retailers in federal court. 
   
   Dick’s Sporting Goods, Casual Male and The Children’s Place are among those sued by Katz over alleged coupon “schemes.” Those suits were either dismissed or settled. 
   
   Asked for comment at her home yesterday, Gerson said, “No, thank you.” 
   
   Additional reporting by Perry Chiaramonte 
   
   jeane.macintosh@nypost.com 
   
   ||||| Mom sues Century 21 for 80 cents, argues department store ripped her off 
   
   Lono for News Tova Gerson says Century 21 ripped her off when she returned an item using a coupon. 
   
   Take our Poll To Sue or Not to Sue Is Gerson's lawsuit frivolous? Yes, it's clearly little more than a publicity stunt. No, Century 21 owes her money. It doesn't matter that it's only 80 cents. I'm not sure. 
   
   A coupon-clipping New Jersey mom insists Century 21 short-changed her and is suing the famed department store to recoup a grand total of...80 cents. 
   
   That's right, 80 cents. 
   
   Tova Gerson claims in court papers that she used a $5 coupon when she bought more than $100 worth of stuff last month at the chain's Paramus, N.J., store. 
   
   When she returned one item a week later, Gerson claims she got back $17.17 instead of the $17.97 she had been expecting because the coupon had been pro-rated over all the goods she purchased. 
   
   So she hired a New York lawyer and tried to up the ante by filing a class action lawsuit on Feb. 10 for damages. 
   
   Gerson has "been injured as a result of defendant's fraudulent conduct," the lawsuit states. 
   
   Reached at her suburban home in Bergenfield, N.J., Gerson refused to answer any questions about the case. 
   
   "It's not a good time," she said, accompanied by a pair of kids. "I'm a mom. It's not a good time." 
   
   Told there was going to be an article about the suit, Gerson said, "I'd really rather you didn't." 
   
   Gerson's lawyer, Harry Katz in Fresh Meadows, Queens, did not return repeated calls to his office. 
   
   There was also no comment from Century 21's legal team. 
   
   Katz and Gerson, who records suggest are related, teamed up before to launch a similar lawsuit in December 2008 against the Modell's sporting goods chain. 
   
   In that case, Gerson bought more than $100 worth of gear using a $25 coupon and complained "the consumer lost the full benefit" of the coupon if they returned "some or all items." 
   
   It was not immediately clear what happened to that suit - or whether Gerson was getting any other disgruntled consumers to go after Modell's. 
   
   In the Century 21 case, Gerson claims she bought $108.16 from the store on Jan. 10. 
   
   Included in the court papers are a copy of a receipt for purchases of tights, leggings, "faux suede" moccasins and other items. It says Gerson paid cash and got the $5 off. 
   
   On Jan. 19, Gerson returned a pink, two-piece, infant girl's outfit citing "incorrect size," according a copy of another receipt. 
   
   "By pro-rating the $5.00, the plaintiff lost the amount of $0.80 she would have been entitled to as part of a coupon she used," the lawsuit states. 
   
   csiemaszko@nydailynews.com
target: – A New Jersey mom is suing a department store for $5 million, claiming she got ripped off 80 cents over a coupon, reports the New York Post. Tova Gerson used the $5 coupon to buy more than $100 worth of merchandise from Century 21, then returned one item. The store refunded her money, minus 80 cents from the pro-rated coupon. Gerson's lawsuit, filed by her lawyer-dad Harry Katz, says the store "unjustly enriched" itself with a coupon "scheme." The Daily News notes that the pair has tried this tack before, suing Modell's sporting goods chain over a $25 coupon and a subsequent return. It's not clear how that lawsuit got resolved. Reached for comment and told a newspaper article was being written, Gerson responded, "I'd really rather you didn't."