Instant Pot class action claims ‘dangerously’ defective lid poses burn risk

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Instant Pot exploding pressure cooker class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Michelle Havens and Elsie Wilkerson filed a class action lawsuit against Instant Brands Inc. 
• Why: Havens and Wilkerson claim Instant Brands knowingly sells Instant Pot electric pressure cookers with defective lids that can cause contents under pressure to explode out of the device. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court. 

Instant Brands knowingly sells Instant Pot electric pressure cooker products containing “dangerously defective” lid-locking assemblies, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiffs Michelle Havens and Elsie Wilkerson claim the alleged defect causes the lids on Instant Pot electric pressure cookers to open “during normal and expected use” while the contents of the cooker are under pressure, causing them to erupt. 

Havens and Wilkerson claim consumers have suffered second- and third-degree burns due to the alleged defect, which they claim Instant Brands has known about since at least 2016, “if not earlier.” 

The Instant Pot electric pressure cookers with the alleged defect are its IP Duo Series, Lux Series, Viva Series, Duo Plus Series, Duo Evo Plus, Duo Crisp, Duo Nova, Nova Plus, Smart WiFi, DUO SV, Ultra Series and Max Series versions, according to the Instant Pot class action.  

Instant Pot class action alleges pressure cooker defect causes second- and third-degree burns

Havens and Wilkerson argue the Instant Pot pressure cookers do not “possess even the most basic degree of fitness for ordinary use” due to the alleged defect causing consumers to suffer “second- and third-degree burns.” 

Further, Havens and Wilkerson claim the alleged defect is “substantially certain to manifest during the useful life of the Product and render the Products unmerchantable.” 

Havens and Wilkerson claim Instant Brands is guilty of fraud by omission and unjust enrichment, among other things, and is in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act. 

Havens and Wilkerson want to represent a nationwide class and Florida and California subclasses of consumers who have purchased and own an Instant Pot pressure cooker since Sept. 27, 2013.

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive and declaratory relief along with actual, general, special, incidental, statutory, punitive and consequential damages for themselves and all class members. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed in 2020 against Sunbeam Products over claims the company’s Crock-Pot Express Pressure Cookers contained a defect that could cause its hot contents to explode. 

Do you own an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Shannon M. McNulty of Clifford Law Offices PC; Michael F. Ram and Marie N. Appel of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group; and George E. McLaughlin of McLaughlin Law Firm PC. 

The Instant Pot exploding pressure cooker class action lawsuit is Havens, et al. v. Instant Brands Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-02909, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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