Judge Denies Whirlpool’s Bid to Dismiss Energy Star Class Action

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A federal judge has turned down Whirlpool Corp.’s request to dismiss the entire class action lawsuit filed against the appliance company, saying that an Energy Star logo placed on its product is a type of warranty to customers.

U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley from the Eastern District of California said that the plaintiffs’ claims that Whirlpool violated California consumer protection laws and committed a breach of express warranty when putting the Energy Star logo on the appliances were legitimate. However, Judge Nunley did dismiss breach of implied warranty claims and the claims that the appliance company violated the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

In their class action lawsuit, plaintiffs Kyle Dei Rossi and Mark Linthicum claimed that they bought Whirlpool refrigerators that had the Energy Star logos on them. However, the model numbers on the refrigerators showed that they were not in compliance with the Energy Star requirements, which meant that they “were disqualified from the Energy Star program.”

The plaintiffs say they would not have bought the refrigerators if they knew that they did not meet the Energy Star requirements. In their class action lawsuit, they claim that Whirlpool breached “the products’ express warranty and implied warranty” by putting the Energy Star logo on these products.

The Energy Star program is voluntary program overseen by both the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It was developed in 1992 as part of the Clean Air Act as a way to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA claims that it has played a key role in reducing energy use. Consumers use about 15 percent less energy with Energy Star appliances, meaning they also save money on their monthly energy bills.

The class action lawsuit alleges Whirlpool violated the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the California Unfair Competition Law, the California False Advertising Law and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

Whirlpool claimed that putting the logo on non-Energy Star appliances did not equate to an express warranty. Judge Nunley disagreed, saying that Whirlpool didn’t explain what else the logo could possibly mean, other than that the appliance was in compliance with the Energy Star program. “Simply put, the court cannot fathom any other reason for affixing the logo in such a manner,” he wrote in his ruling.

Whirlpool also claimed that the plaintiffs didn’t state what the terms of the warranty were. Judge Nunley disagreed, finding their claim that Whirlpool’s Energy Star refrigerators are 20 percent more efficient than required by the EPA’s minimum standards are constituted express warranty terms. “It would be nonsensical for this Court to impose stricter pleading requirements on Plaintiffs than is required and articulated by the Energy Star program itself,” Judge Nunley wrote.

The California Consumer Legal Remedies Act survived because if the plaintiffs’ claims are true, then Whirlpool either lied about the refrigerator’s efficiency or didn’t properly verify that it complied with the program.

The Unfair Competition Law survived because the plaintiff’s claims were “specific enough to give defendants notice of the particular misconduct,” and False Advertising claims was also kept because the date, place and medium of the advertisements plaintiffs relied on were specified.

The implied warranty claim was dismissed because the refrigerators do fulfill their “ordinary purpose.” The judge also said that the Magnuson-Moss claim didn’t apply because the warranty did not state a specified time period.

The plaintiffs are represented by Antonio Vozzolo and Andrea Clisura of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP and by L. Timothy Fisher of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Whirlpool Energy Star Class Action Lawsuit is Dei Rossi, et al. v. Whirlpool Corp., Case No. 2:12-cv-00125, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

UPDATE: On June 28, 2016, a California federal judge granted preliminarily approval to this consumer class action settlement that would resolve allegations that the Whirlpool Corp. falsely labeled certain models of KitchenAid refrigerators as Energy Star compliant.
UPDATE 2: The Whirlpool Energy Star class action settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim!