Rawlings Baseball Bat Owners Seek Class Action Certification

A California federal judge has been asked to certify a Class of California baseball bat buyers who say were financially injured by Rawlings Sporting Goods’ mislabeling of its baseball bats.

According to the customers, the bats are heavier than advertised. The proposed Class of consumers include all of those individuals in California who purchased a Rawlings’ youth or adult baseball bat made of a material other than wood, since October 2014.

The consumers say their allegations are appropriate for a class action lawsuit because there are enough Class Members. According to the customers, Rawlings sells enough bats in California alone to compose a statewide Class.

In requesting Class certification, the consumers have also fought back against some arguments against the claims put forth by Rawlings. The Rawlings weighted bat class action lawsuit was filed in October 2018, and in February 2019, Rawlings moved to dismiss the claims.

According to Rawlings, consumers were taking issue with weight advertisements made by a third-party seller of the bats, not by Rawlings itself. Rawlings had also claimed that the plaintiffs did not show that the company was aware that the labeled weight was different from the actual weight.

However, the consumers fired back at this claim by saying that Rawlings knew or should have known what weight the retailer was advertising, as that seller was an authorized dealer.

According to the consumers, the Rawlings CEO did know about the weight discrepancy but the evidence provided was redacted from the court document.

Further supporting their argument that the Class of California bat buyers should be certified, the consumers say that a class action lawsuit is the best way to resolve certain discrepancies at the heart of the case. According to consumers, the issues at stake are the bats actual weight versus advertised weight. These issues are reportedly consistent across all members of the proposed Class.

The Rawlings bat weight class action lawsuit was filed by Richard Soleto in October 2018. Soleto claimed that he purchased a Major League Baseball bat in November 2017 that was made by Rawlings. Allegedly, Soleto purchased the bat for his eight-year-old son and discovered after his purchase that the bat was heavier than advertised.

According to Soleto, the weight of a bat is important in how a bat swings and how functional it is. He claims that not only can an unexpected weight affect performance, but can “even cause injury to the user and other players.”

Have you had problems with the weight of a bat you purchased? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below. 

Sotelo is represented by David R. Shoop of Shoop PC, Janine Pollack and Michael Liskow of The Sultzer Law Group PC, Lee S. Shalov and Jason S. Giaimo of McLaughlin & Stern LLP and C. Mario Jaramillo of C. Mario Jaramillo PLLC.

The Rawlings Bat Weight Discrepancy Class Action Lawsuit is Soleto v. Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. Inc., Case No. 2:18-cv-09166, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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