Plaintiffs Seek Cert. for Sears Moldy Washer Class Action Lawsuit

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Sears Roebuck and Co. has been sued by a group of consumers in a Whirlpool moldy washer class action lawsuit alleging that Sears knowingly sold defective Whirlpool Corp. Kenmore brand washers to their consumers. This group of plaintiffs, after being previously denied certification, have renewed their class action litigation and bid for Class certification last Friday in Illinois federal court.

This is not the first time lead plaintiff Larry Butler has attempted to receive Class certification for himself and consumers who were allegedly harmed the “uniformly defective” Kenmore washers. When this Sears Whirlpool moldy washer class action lawsuit was originally filed, an Illinois federal judge rejected class certification, but this ruling was then reversed by the Seventh Circuit.

In the Sears moldy washer class action lawsuit, Butler and the Class claim, “Put simply, this case is a prototypical one in which class certification is warranted. The evidence shows that Sears Kenmores uniformly accumulate mold and cannot self-clean, and to obtain class certification Plaintiffs need show nothing more.” As they renew their motion for class certification, the plaintiffs have cited similar moldy washer lawsuits filed against the Whirlpool Corp. where the plaintiffs were granted class certification.

In one particular case cited by the potential Sears moldy washer Class, they pointed out that earlier this month, Judge Christopher A. Boyko rejected Whirlpool Kenmore’s bid to decertify a proposed Class of moldy washer consumers. The Sears plaintiffs state, “Few proposed classes have been scrutinized as thoroughly as the one plaintiffs seek. Two circuits have expressly endorsed class certification, and just weeks ago Judge Boyko reaffirmed the propriety of class certification in an exhaustive opinion in the companion Whirlpool case[.]”

Back in February, the home appliance seller had argued against Class certification based on an argument that the majority of consumers were not harmed by the alleged moldy washer defect and that Class could not possibly meet the predominancy requirements of certification. However the Seventh Circuit and the Supreme Court refused to hear anymore arguments by Sears challenging class certification.

As they go forward with this moldy washer class action lawsuit, Larry Butler and the other Sears plaintiffs argue that Whirlpool is in position of internal documents that allegedly indicate that in the majority of the affected washers, the mold or biofilm exists even if a consumer does not detect this mold by sight or smell.

This Sears Whirlpool moldy washer class action lawsuit includes 21 distinct Whirlpool Duet washer models that have been on the market since 2001, which allegedly contain the specific design defect that causes these washers to produce a moldy odor. The proposed Class could potentially include thousands of consumers across the United States.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jason L. Lichtman, Jonathan D. Selbin and Darsana Srinivasan of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP
 and others.

The Sears Whirpool Moldy Washer Class Action Lawsuit is Larry Butler, et al. v. Sears Roebuck and Co., Case No. 06-cv-7023, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.