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Best Buy is being sued for negligence after one of its mini-fridges allegedly caused a California house fire that left the home uninhabitable.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in a California state court, insurance agency California Fair Plan Association said Best Buy should have to reimburse it the amount it paid out when its customer Dorothy Reik claimed for fire damage.
Reik bought a mini refrigerator from Best Buy’s in-house brand Insignia and put it in the basement of her house in Topanga, the lawsuit claims.
Last July, Reik discovered a fire had broken out in one of her basement rooms. She tried to put it out with a hose but it swept quickly through the basement, causing severe fire and smoke damage throughout the home.
The fire department arrived and traced the cause of the fire back to the Insignia mini-fridge, the lawsuit said.
The insurance company said it has incurred costs of more than $78,500 so far for having to pay out for the damaged house, and it expects more liability and damages will emerge in repairing the home.
After the fire, the insurance agency got its engineer to look at the fridge, and said the engineer concluded the fire was caused by a wiring defect that resulted in electrical arcing at the back of the refrigerator.
It claimed the potential risks built into the product were “knowable” and “presented a substantial danger” when the product was used in its intended way.
The insurance company is suing Best Buy for negligence, strict products liability and for breach of implied warranty.
Best Buy has faced lawsuits over products causing fires in the past. In 2018, it and ASUS Computer International Inc. faced a lawsuit claiming a computer purchased at Best Buy caught fire while its owner slept.
In that case, the owner of the product died in the house fire.
Do you think Best Buy should be liable for the damage to the house? Let us know in the comments.
The insurance agency is represented by Jeffrey A. Katz of Watkins & Letofsky LLP.
The Best Buy Fridge Fire Lawsuit is California Fair Plan Association v. Best Buy Stores LP et al., Case No. unavailable, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
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3 thoughts onFaulty Best Buy Fridge Caused Fire That Burnt House Down, New Lawsuit Alleges
Please add me
Bought 2 of these fridge
One for me and one for my son.
Sparked right out!!!!!!
Add me please
Add me please got one for my sons birthday to put in ‘guy den’ at his house