Pella Reaches $26M Window Defect Class Action Settlement

Pella Corporation will pay close to $26 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged a line of its windows leaked and caused wood rot.

In 2009, plaintiffs Kent Eubank, Jerry Davis, Ricky Falaschetti, and others, filed a class action lawsuit against Pella alleging that its ProLine windows were defective.

In 2012, a $90 million settlement was reached, but in 2014, it was overturned as inequitable. This week, a second, $25.75 million class action settlement was reached that will resolve the long litigation process.

Under the terms of the new settlement, Pella will pay $23.75 million to honor clams submitted under the first claims period, and will pay an additional $2 million to cover claims submitted in an extended claims period.

Pella Windows has reportedly agreed to pay separately for class notice costs and expenses, bringing the total designated funds to $34.75 million. Unclaimed funds will be returned to Pella.

Since the beginning of the settlement process in 2009, Pella has denied the allegations of the defective Pella windows class action lawsuit, and maintains that wood rot can be caused by many factors, and that rot is not necessarily indicative of the Pella windows being defective.

In a 2012 statement about the initial settlement, representatives from Pella stated that they were “pleased to have created a settlement framework that extends our existing customer support program with a claims process for older windows.” The company maintains that position with the current settlement agreement.

The Pella class action settlement agreement keeps terms for qualification fairly flexible, given the time it took to reach an agreement. Valid claims include either contemporaneous records of damage, or older photographs of existing damage.

The new settlement from the Pella ProLine Windows class action lawsuit covers consumers throughout the entry who purchased Pella ProLine aluminum-clad wood casement, awning or transom windows made by Pella between Jan. 1, 1991 and Dec. 31, 2009. Consumers who paid for repairs and replacements to their windows will receive compensation based on the amount they paid for their new window.

If the damage occurred within 15 years of their original window purchase, consumers will reportedly receive compensation equaling the total amount of their costs for the new window, installation, finish, and repairs. If the damage occurred 15 years or more after the windows were installed, consumers will receive compensation worth 25 percent of that amount. Consumers who have not yet paid for repairs will receive compensation to repair or replace affected windows, in comparable amounts based on the timing of the original windows’ damage.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The Pella window owners are represented by Shannon M. McNulty and Robert A. Clifford of Clifford Law Offices, George K. Lang of Lang Law Office, John A. Yanchunis and Marcio W. Valladares of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group, Joel R. Rhine of Rhine Law Firm PC, and Edward R. Moor of Moor Law Office PC.  

The Pella ProLine Windows Class Action Lawsuit is Kent Eubank, et al. v. Pella Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:06-cv-04481, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District Illinois, Eastern Division.

UPDATE: On March 23, 2018, the revised Pella ProLine windows defect class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.