Goodyear Home Heating Rubber Hose Class Action Lawsuit Certified

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A Colorado federal judge has certified a group of plaintiffs in that state, saying that they have satisfied all the points necessary for their Goodyear home heating rubber hose class action lawsuit to proceed. However, he denied certification to a class of Wisconsin plaintiffs, finding that they did not meet the numerosity requirement for class certification.

The members, current and former homeowners who had the Entran 3 rubber hoses installed in their houses as part of a radiant heating system, allege design defects, noting that several of them have seen leaking fluid, split hoses, particles released into the system among other issues. Goodyear argued that the problem was most likely linked to the improper installation of the system.

However, in litigating the class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs’ attorneys incorporated not only the installation procedures used in the homes that were damaged by the rubber hoses, but also expert witness testimony that supported their claim that there would be a failure where there was the “use of EPDM rubber in Entran 3 to carry hot liquid for the lifetime of homes where the product was installed.” Further, they argued that the EPDM rubber and ethylene vinyl outer covering were not manufactured to consistent thicknesses.

Even if all of the plaintiffs had not seen evidence of the home heating rubber hose failures, that is not necessary for a class action lawsuit regarding a design defect, U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson wrote. Rather, they “have introduced evidence demonstrating that Entran 3 hoses will degrade over time, within the expected lifetime of the product, and that such degradation will cause malfunctions. … The value of the home would be instantly reduced.”

Finally, he wrote that while Goodyear’s expert witness and that of the plaintiffs came to disparate conclusions regarding the efficacy of using the EPDM rubber and ethylene vinyl outer covering, he was not deciding on a motion for summary judgment. Instead, the Colorado homeowners had adequately established some basis for their allegation of design defects.

However, six plaintiffs were tossed from the class action lawsuit, and not because they had not suffered economic injuries. Judge Jackson decided that while the 132 current members of the Colorado class were numerous enough for a class action lawsuit to benefit both sides, the other six from Wisconsin were not. He did write that they could seek out more people who had the Entran 3 rubber hoses installed and pursue a similar class action lawsuit regarding the radiant heating system products.

Helmer and the class are represented by class action attorneys Charles J. LaDuca, Michael James Flannery and Victoria Olegovna Romanenko of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP and Gary E. Mason of The Mason Law Firm LLP.

The Goodyear Home Heating Rubber Hose Class Action Lawsuit is David Helmer, et al. v. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Case No. 12-cv-00685, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.