GE Shattering Microwaves Class Action Settlement Gets OK

A General Electric class action settlement worth up to $20 million recently received preliminary approval from a Connecticut federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea signed off on the settlement on Jan. 15, allowing the deal to move forward.

According to the court’s preliminary approval motion, Judge Shea found the settlement fair, adequate and reasonable.

If the General Electric class action settlement is granted final approval, the deal will benefit consumers who purchased certain GE Profile and GE Monogram microwaves (model numbers JEB1090, JEB1095, ZMC1090, or ZMC 1095) between Jan. 1, 1995 and Jan. 15, 2020.

Under the settlement, Class Members will receive $300 if their microwaves shattered and $5 if their microwaves remain intact. These payments will not prohibit Class Members from bringing personal injury claims against General Electric if they were injured when their microwave doors shattered.

Around 68,000 relevant microwaves were manufactured between 1995 and 2007. If each manufactured microwave resulted in the maximum possible payment under the settlement, General Electric would have to pay $20.4 million.

In addition to Class Member payments, General Electric has agreed to pay $13.5 million to cover attorneys’ fees, court costs and a service award for the lead plaintiffs. The individual amounts have not been specified, but Class counsel was ordered in the preliminary approval motion to submit a fee request by late March.

If Class Members want to opt-out of the settlement or object to the terms, these requests must be mailed to the settlement administrator by May 14, 2020. The final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for June 23, 2020.

The General Electric class action lawsuit was originally filed in 2013 by plaintiffs Glen Grayson and Doreen Mazzanti. The plaintiffs claimed certain General Electric microwaves were equipped with defective doors that could shatter and explode outwards.

In 2015, several General Electric class action lawsuits were consolidated into one complaint. This resulted in plaintiffs Daniel Levy, David Mequet and Lauren Harris being added to the original class action, along with Grayson and Mazzanti.

Some claims ended up being dismissed from the original complaint. Others, such as breach of express warranty, fraudulent concealment, violations of the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act and unjust enrichment, were allowed to continue.

In March 2017, the plaintiffs made headway in their case when they were granted Class certification of two groups. The first Class included allegations under state consumer protection laws, while the other specifically applied to breach of implied warranty claims under Texas laws. These Classes were not adopted by the recent General Electric class action. Instead, only one nationwide settlement Class was specified.

Did your General Electric microwave door shatter unexpectedly? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

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The plaintiffs and settlement Class are represented by Robert A. Izard and Seth R. Klein of Izard Nobel LLP and Hassan A. Zavareei and Anna C. Haac of Tycko & Zavareei LLP.

The General Electric Microwave Class Action Lawsuit is Glen Grayson, et al. v. General Electric Co., Case No. 3:13-cv-01799-MPS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

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