LG, Kenmore Refrigerators with Defective Linear Compressors Class Action

This class action is aimed at designers, makers, and sellers of refrigerators, including LG Electronics USA, Inc., Sears Roebuck and Co., Costco Wholesale Corporation, Lowe’s Companies, Inc., Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, Best Buy Co., Inc., and Best Buy Stores, LP. The complaint alleges that that these companies incorporate in their refrigerators linear compressors made by LG, despite their poor record, so that the refrigerators fail much too quickly.

The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons in the US who bought, other than for resale, a Kenmore or LG refrigerator from Sears, LG, or any other authorized retailer, including but not limited to Best Buy, Costco, or Lowe’s, which was manufacturer between January 1, 2018 and the present.

In addition, or in the alternative, the complaint has defined California, Washington, Massachusetts, and New York Classes, which are the same as the above Nationwide Class except that instead of including “persons in the US,” they include persons in those respective states.

According to the complaint, LG claims its refrigerators have a twenty-year life span, longer than most. However, the complaint alleges that the refrigerators in question have a defect that causes their linear compressors to fail far sooner: “Although refrigerators last 13 years on average, these Kenmore and LG Refrigerators have been failing within approximately 24-36 months.”

What makes this even more maddening is the complaint’s allegation that LG has settled at least two earlier class actions about its defective refrigerators, yet it has continued selling the refrigerators without warning prospective customers of the problem. (The latest date in the class period for the latest one was December 31, 2017, which explains the fact that the class period for this case begins on the following day, January 1, 2018.

The complaint explains in detail how it believes the failure occurs. The complaint alleges that the source of the problem is defective tubing in the evaporator, which is prone to pitting and corrosion, and which develops pinholes that leak refrigerant and allow air to enter. This causes excess pressure, the complaint claims, stressing the compressor, which cannot withstand the extra pressure and thus fails.

“Once the compressor in a Kenmore or LG Refrigerator fails,” the complaint alleges, “even if a repair is performed, the refrigerator remains substantially certain to fail again within a few years.”

When customers have made warranty claims, the complaint alleges, LG has not replaced the defective units with working ones or given them refunds. Instead, the complaint alleges, it has had technicians make “futile repairs or replaced defective compressors with other defective compressors—a practice that, for many, has resulted in repeated refrigerator failures.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Breach of warranty, Fraudulent Concealment, Negligent Misrepresentation