Rubbermaid Coolers Leave Consumers Lukewarm, New Class Action Lawsuit Claims

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Update:

• A New York federal judge dismissed the Rubbermaid class action lawsuit that alleged its coolers don’t “keep ice” for as long as promised, saying “no reasonable consumer would be misled by [Rubbermaid’s] representations on the [coolers’] labels.”
• U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas said the plaintiffs mistakenly equated Rubbermaid’s representations of “Keeps Ice – Up to 5 Days at 90 degrees F” with “a food-safe temperature of 40° Fahrenheit or lower for five full days.”
• Further, Judge Karas ruled that the plaintiffs did not allege that the coolers’ labels made “any representation at all as to what temperature the products can maintain” and failed to prove they even saw the supposedly misleading statements on the coolers’ labels before purchasing them. 

(12/15/2021)

A new class action lawsuit says consumers are being led to believe Rubbermaid coolers “keep ice” longer than they actually do in real-world conditions.

Lori Marie Turk of New York filed the class action lawsuit against Rubbermaid Inc. in federal court Jan. 14, alleging the company has violated laws by deceiving customers about product performance. The Rubbermaid coolers are far less effective at maintaining ice than the company boasts in advertisements and labeling, Turk says.

That is due, at least in part, to the fact the manufacturer tests the coolers in ideal conditions to produce optimum results, according to the class action lawsuit. Rubbermaid’s claims about the coolers’ performance are based on such testing, which doesn’t approximate the conditions coolers are typically used in, Turk’s complaint says.

Some — but not all — of the Rubbermaid coolers are sold with disclaimers on their labels that disclose their performance ratings are based on “test conditions,” Turk says. Even then, the disclaimers are “self-serving statements intended to avoid transparency,” the class action lawsuit claims.

Turk says she purchased a 102-quart cooler Rubbermaid claims will “keep ice for up to 5 days at 90 degrees Fahrenheit.” The chest is listed as having the capacity to hold 170 pounds of fish or 122 cans and 30 pounds of ice. Other Rubbermaid coolers are advertised and labeled as being able to “keep ice” for four to seven days, the class action lawsuit says.

“The consumers’ definition of ‘keeps ice’ appears to be the time period from when the original ice is place in the [cooler] and when the ice becomes fully non-functional losing most of the ability to keep items chilled,” Turk’s class action lawsuit says. The complaint later states Rubbermaid has “a perplexing interpretation of the phrase ‘keeps ice” … the amount of days it takes for most or all of the ice to be melted into water.”

Turk claims she and all other consumers who purchased Rubbermaid coolers advertised as being able to “keep ice” for four to seven days have been harmed by the company’s misleading advertising; they would not have purchased the coolers if they’d known their true capabilities. She is seeking the court’s approval to represent a Class of consumers nationwide and a Subclass from her home state of New York.

“Defendant violated statutes enacted in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia which are designed to protect consumers against unfair, deceptive, fraudulent and unconscionable trade and business practices and false advertising,” the class action lawsuit says.

Other cooler companies have faced similar class action lawsuits in recent months.

In November, Coleman was named as the defendant in a federal class action lawsuit making nearly identical claims about deceptive marketing regarding ice retention capabilities.

And in October, the maker of Igloo coolers was hit with a class action lawsuit by plaintiffs who said those coolers also are unable to keep ice from melting for as long as the company promises.

Do you have one of the Rubbermaid coolers that promises to keep ice for four to seven days? Has your cooler performed that well? Tell us about it in the comment section below.

Lead plaintiff Turk and the proposed Class Members are represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC and James Chung of Law Office of James Chung.

The Rubbermaid Coolers Class Action Lawsuit is Lori Marie Turk, et al. v. Rubbermaid Inc., Case No. 7:21-cv-00270, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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