Class Actions -- 2016



Terrill v. Electrolux Home Prods., Inc.   (11th Circuit)

Class action certification without injury

The NAM filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit supporting Electrolux Home Prods., Inc. in its appeal of a lower court’s certification of a class of plaintiffs that included parties who were not harmed or were unlikely to be harmed by the alleged defect. The plaintiffs alleged that they overpaid for the appliances because front loading washers were more likely than top-loading washers to develop mold and odors. This matter is important to manufacturers because improper class certification places undue pressure on companies to settle otherwise meritless cases. The NAM’s brief argued that 1) the court ignored evidence showing that the vast majority of class members would be unable to assert or prevail on any claim because more than 99% of them never experienced any moldy odors; 2) many plaintiffs knew of the issue prior to purchase because it was widely publicized; and 3) many plaintiffs received a free warranty replacement of the allegedly defective part. In a win for manufacturers, the appeals court held that the class was certified improperly and remanded the case back to the trial court to determine whether there were sufficient common issues of causation.


Related Documents:
NAM amicus brief  (November 1, 2013)