Electrolux Must Face Microwave Handle Defect Class Action

A New Jersey federal judge has denied Electrolux’s request to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging that their microwave handles get too hot.

U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb made the decision to reject the bid on Monday.

Electrolux had argued that claims over the microwave ovens’ alleged defect are subsumed, or overridden, by the New Jersey Product Liability Act.

Judge Bumb disagreed with Electrolux’s argument, saying that “the court finds that plaintiff’s claims are not subsumed by the PLA and that Electrolux’s other arguments… for dismissal are without merit.”

Elaborating on her assertion that the consumers’ claims were not overridden by the state laws, Judge Bumb argued that the New Jersey Product Liability Act does not cover allegations related to damage of a product.

According to Judge Bumb, the alleged defect causing the microwaves to become too hot to touch “damages the value and usefulness” of the microwaves. She stated that based on this damage, the claims cannot be subsumed by New Jersey’s Product Liability Act.

The judge says that “specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Handle Defect makes the handle unreasonably hot and prevents consumers from opening the Microwave door, rendering the Microwave unusable when an individual is cooking on the surface below.”

Plaintiff Thomas P. Gorczynski filed the microwave oven defect against Electrolux Home Products Inc. over claims that the company knowingly produced and sold over-the-range microwaves whose handles became too hot to use when the stovetop below was used.

He says that the microwaves’ stainless steal handles reach more than 200 degrees Fahrenheit “with the cooktop operating at full power.”

The microwaves that allegedly possess the heat defect include the Frigidaire Gallery Over-the-Range Microwave, which Gorczynski says he purchased in 2015. Allegedly, they were built in China by Midea and then were sold in the United States by Electrolux.

Gorczynski argues that Electrolux knew or should have known that the microwaves possessed a dangerous defect, but sold them anyway. Allegedly, the company did not inform customers of the danger despite their knowledge.

To support his claim that the company knew about the defect, he says that Midea’s testing in 2010 revealed the existence of the defect. Gorczynski and his attorney argue that Electrolux had access to this testing information.

To further support his argument that the company knew of the defect but did nothing, Gorczynski says that customers started complaining about the problem as early as 2013. Allegedly, Electrolux continued to sell the affected microwaves in the United Sates despite these complaints.

The Electrolux microwave class action lawsuit asserts that Electrolux has made no attempt to warn consumers of the defect or the potential dangers associated with it. 

Judge Bumb did say that Gorczynski possibly did not sufficiently established the degree to which Electrolux was aware of the defect, but said that because he had sufficiently argued that Electrolux’s representations around the microwave were inaccurate, his claims could continue.

Electrolux also attempted to claim that Gorczynski had not sufficiently established that he had suffered loss because of the company’s actions, but Judge Bumb disagreed with this argument.

Gorczynski is represented by Simon B. Paris, Patrick Howard, and Charles Kocher of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky PC.

The Electrolux Overheating Microwave Handle Class Action Lawsuit is Thomas P. Gorczynski v. Electrolux Home Products Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-10661, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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