PowerBlock Class Action Says ‘World’s Best Dumbbells’ Are Defective

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PowerBlock Inc., the maker of the “World’s Best Dumbbell,” has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging their dumbbells are made with substandard quality materials and do not perform as advertised.

Plaintiff Peter Cohen filed the PowerBlock class action lawsuit in Florida federal court on behalf of himself and a proposed Class of consumers who purchased PowerBlock Urethane Series Dumbbells since 2010.

According to the PowerBlock class action lawsuit, the Urethane Series dumbbells are the most expensive model of weights marketed and sold by PowerBlock. With a MSRP of $1,396, these PowerBlock dumbbells are reportedly sold with a lifetime warranty for home use.

However, these PowerBlock dumbbells do not perform well and tend to fail in warm environments, the PowerBlock class action lawsuit states.

The PowerBlock Urethane Series dumbbells are reportedly made using a urethane coating on the weight plates. When exposed to warm conditions, the urethane coating cracks and breaks, the PowerBlock class action lawsuit alleges.

“This defect creates a significant safety hazard because the weights can and have failed during exercises in a position where the weights can fall on the individual exercising,” Cohen alleges in the PowerBlock class action lawsuit.

Cohen, who lives in Miami, says he made the decision to purchase Urethane Series PowerBlock dumbbells after viewing advertisements in 2010. One of the persuasive factors was the inclusion of a lifetime warranty for the weights. However, the PowerBlock dumbbells reportedly failed in 2015 and were no longer usable.

PowerBlock sent replacement blocks to Cohen after he contacted the company to report the failure. Yet, just two years later, these replacement blocks also failed, the PowerBlock class action lawsuit alleges.

Cohen contacted PowerBlock to express his concerns about the safety of their urethane-coated dumbbells. A customer service representative for PowerBlock reportedly asked Cohen where he stored his weights. When Cohen mentioned they were stored in his garage, the customer service representative allegedly informed him that the PowerBlock weights could not tolerate the heat.

According to the PowerBlock class action lawsuit, Cohen was told that he could either receive a new urethane PowerBlock set or pay full price for less expensive PowerBlock products that do not suffer from the defect.

“Given the fact the Defendant is well aware of the defect and refused to provide a less expensive product, Plaintiff was left with no choice but to seek counsel to secure redress on his behalf,” Cohen says in the PowerBlock class action lawsuit.

Cohen points to reviews online that report similar PowerBlock failure. One user posted a review on Amazon complaining that a PowerBlock dumbbell disintegrated and hit the user’s foot while the user was working out.

The PowerBlock class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, breach of express warranty, violations of the Magnuson-Moss Federal Warranty Act, and unjust enrichment.

Cohen is represented by Jon Herskowitz of Baron & Herskowitz LLP and Charles J. LaDuca and William H. Anderson of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP.

The Defective PowerBlock Dumbbells Class Action Lawsuit is Peter Cohen v. PowerBlock Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-23230-MGC, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.