LG Refrigerator Lawsuit Settlement Provides Cash, Warranties to 1.5M Consumers

UPDATE 2: On Nov. 16, 2020, the Court granted an extension and deadlines have changed. The claim form deadline has been extended to Feb. 5, 2021, and the opt-out and objection deadline has been extended to Dec. 10, 2020.

UPDATE: September 2020, the LG refrigerator cooling defect class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

LG Electronics has reached a settlement deal for a LG refrigerator class action lawsuit to resolve claims that the company’s refrigerators stopped cooling due to a compressor defect.

According to the settlement motion, about 1.5 million consumers could receive cash payments and extended warranty coverage. The motion is under consideration for approval in New Jersey court.

Under the terms of the settlement, LG would make cash payments to about 1.55 million consumers in the Settlement Class. 

Class Members are able to receive payments for reimbursement of parts and labor costs in addition to property loss, such as food or medicine spoiled due to the LG Electronics refrigerators not cooling the items, according to the settlement terms.

LG will also compensate Class Members for unsuccessful or delayed repairs, or the cost of replacing the refrigerator.

If affected consumers are able to document their claims, they could be eligible for up to several thousand dollars, the settlement says. Those who provide attestation but not documentation may be eligible to recover up to $450.

There is no cap on the payments. 

Class Members also will receive an extended warranty that will cover the full repair cost for cooling failures in the LG Electronics refrigerators and related property loss for five years from the date the appliance was purchased, the class action settlement says.

To bolster this warranty service, LG has also agreed to employ more technicians and put a dedicated team in place to address the cooling failures, the class action settlement claims. LG will also develop more reliable replacement parts.

Attorneys’ fees and costs are subject to Court approval and will be paid separately. Those awards will not reduce settlement benefits. 

The Settlement Class includes anyone in the U.S. who bought one of the covered models of LG Electronics refrigerators produced between Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2017.

Consumers who previously released claims in favor of LG, those who purchased refrigerators manufactured after Dec. 31, 2017, and those who bought Kenmore refrigerators from Sears are not eligible to be included in the Class, according to the class action settlement.

Also excluded are consumers who bought LG refrigerator models of which fewer than 1,000 units were sold “or for which the service rate for No-Cooling Events was less than 1% of sales,” the settlement says.

Plaintiff Michael Bentley’s class action lawsuit was consolidated with other similar complaints dealing with the allegedly defective LG Electronics refrigerators.

According to Bentley’s complaint, he had purchased an LG Kenmore refrigerator for about $1,500 from a Michigan Sears in 2015, after seeing ads touting the appliance as high quality and fully functional.

Bentley said he received additional information about the refrigerator and its compressor in the form of brochures and owners’ manuals, but did not see any disclosures that the compressor was defective or prone to failure.

Bentely’s Kenmore refrigerator failed because of the compressor defect in September 2018, the complaint says. It allegedly would not stay cool and spoiled his food.

He requested repairs through Sears, and although he was told the repairs would be covered under the warranty, he was charged $100 to diagnose the issue. He says he was ultimately charged $700 for a replacement compressor.

But the refrigerator failed from the compressor defect again on March 20, 2019, according to the complaint. Again, the repairs — this time completed by a local repair shop — cost about $750, and the repair technician allegedly informed him that he was “wasting money on repairs because the refrigerator would likely fail again from the same problem.”

Bentley says he replaced the refrigerator with a General Electric model in April 2019.

Had he known the LG refrigerator was defective he would not have bought it, would have paid a different price or would have returned it, the class action lawsuit says.

The plaintiffs claimed the linear compressors in their LG Electronics refrigerators were defective and prone to failure, causing them to be unable to cool their contents.

The class action lawsuit also alleged that LG had long known about the defective compressors after many consumers and LG-authorized repair technicians reported the failures to the company.

However, LG has “vigorously disputed Plaintiffs’ allegations,” according to the settlement motion. 

A final approval hearing on the settlement motion has yet to be scheduled.

Did you purchase one of the defective LG Electronics refrigerators? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiff and Proposed Class are represented by Shanon J. Carson, Lawrence Deutsch, Jacob M. Polakoff and Amey J. Park of Berger Montague PC; Daniel C. Girard, Jordan Elias, Adam E. Polk and Simon S. Grille of Girard Sharp LLP; and Benjamin F. Johns and Samantha E. Holbrook of Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP.

The LG Electronics Refrigerators Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Bently, et al. v. LG Electronics U.S.A. Inc., Case No. 2:19-cv-13554-MCA-MAH, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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