The Whirlpool Corporation is “the world’s leading major home appliance company,” the complaint for this class action says, “with approximately $21 billion in annual sales.” However, according to the complaint, some of its cooktops, sold under the Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Jenn-Air brands, are defective and can turn on by themselves, posing a fire hazard.
The class for this action is all persons who bought or otherwise acquired a glass cooking surface, radiant and downdraft radiant models, sold under the Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Jenn-Air brands, primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, during the fullest period allowed by law.
Whirlpool sells its home appliances around the world under many trademarks, including, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, and Indesit.
The cooktops at issue are not cheap, retailing at around $2,500. The cooktops can turn on by themselves, creating a fire hazard. The complaint says they pose “an unreasonable risk of spontaneous ignition and fire, resulting in property damage and loss, personal injury, and/or death.”
The complaint claims that Whirlpool was on notice about the defective cooktops for a while, but that it only recently admitted to the problem, after receiving 133 incident reports of defective cooktops switching on by themselves. The reports included fourteen that told of “heat damage to nearby items and four reports of items catching fire” plus “one report of property damage and two reports of burn injuries.”
Whirlpool has now announced a recall, the complaint says: “Consumers were warned through the Consumer Product Safety Commissions website, and through Whirlpool social [m]edia announcement, that consumers should immediately contact Whirlpool for a free installation of a replacement cooktop, advising Consumers to turn the unit circuit breaker off in the meantime.”
However, the complaint alleges that the recall is “totally inadequate in that it does not alone sufficiently provide reasonable notice to Whirlpool’s purchasers of its Defective Cooktops and the safety hazards they present.
In fact, the complaint alleges that the plaintiff in this case, James M. Rosenbaum, “has contacted the company multiple times to request a replacement, expressing his safety concerns about the product, yet Whirlpool has failed to replace [his] Defective Cooktop.”
The complaint reproduces online postings from consumers. One notes that their “cooktop burst into flames, from every knob, while the unit was not even being used.” Another says, “I put a pot of water on and just had walked away when there was an explosion. The cooktop had exploded. Glass was everywhere…” These postings both report poor response and no replacement from the company.
Below are the models at issue. Model numbers beginning with K are KitchenAid models; those beginning with J are Jenn-Air models; and those beginning with W are Whirlpool models.
Radiant Model Numbers Begin With
- KCES950HSS
- KCES956HSS
- KCES950HBL
- KCES956HBL
- WCE97US0HS
- WCE97US0HB
- WCE97US6HS
- WCE97US6HB
- JEC4430HS
- JEC4430HB
- JEC4536HS
Downdraft Radiant Model Numbers Begin With
- JED4430GB
- JED4536GB
- JED4430GS
- JED4536GS
Topic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air Cooktops Fire Hazard Complaint
November 20, 2019
The Whirlpool Corporation is “the world’s leading major home appliance company,” the complaint for this class action says, “with approximately $21 billion in annual sales.” However, according to the complaint, some of its cooktops, sold under the Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Jenn-Air brands, are defective and can turn on by themselves, posing a fire hazard.
whirlpool_defective_cooktop_complaint.pdfCase Event History
Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air Cooktops Fire Hazard Complaint
November 20, 2019
The Whirlpool Corporation is “the world’s leading major home appliance company,” the complaint for this class action says, “with approximately $21 billion in annual sales.” However, according to the complaint, some of its cooktops, sold under the Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Jenn-Air brands, are defective and can turn on by themselves, posing a fire hazard.
whirlpool_defective_cooktop_complaint.pdf