NuWave Ovens Class Action Says Domes Crack After Minimal Use

NuWave LLC manufactures and sells certain NuWave countertop ovens with clear plastic domes that are prone to cracking, according to a class action lawsuit filed last week in Illinois federal court.

Plaintiff Elizabeth Aguilera says the NuWave Oven Pro and NuWave Oven Pro Plus ovens with clear plastic domes, which are sold on the company’s website for about $120 plus shipping and handling, have a defect that causes the dome to crack within a year, even with minimal use.

Aguilera points to hundreds of online complaints about the NuWave ovens, many of which have reportedly received responses from NuWave, to show that the company is aware of the alleged defect.

However, even though NuWave is aware of the alleged NuWave oven defect, the company continues to advertise NuWave Oven Pro models as being “high-quality,” “dishwasher safe,” “durable,” and “shatter resistant,” the NuWave class action lawsuit says.

Aguilera claims that these representations about the NuWave Oven Pro models constitute express warranties about the product. She also points to a statement in the owner’s manual which says the infrared cooking system, including the oven dome, is free from defects,

NuWave also fails to live up to its own promise that it will provide replacement parts or repairs for its ovens within the one-year warranty period, the NuWave Oven Pro class action lawsuit says. The dome is allegedly often out of stock. When the dome is in stock, consumers have to pay shipping and handling costs that are almost as costly as purchasing a new NuWave oven.

“In fact, instead of providing consumers with free, non-defective replacements for their cracked and unusable Standard Domes, NuWave has a standard practice of manipulating consumers into paying to upgrade to NuWave’s newer, more expensive, Power Dome, an amber-colored dome which is advertised as being ‘virtually indestructible,’” the NuWave cracked dome class action lawsuit says.

The NuWave Power Dome is also vulnerable to cracking despite these representations, the NuWave class action lawsuit says.

According to the NuWave class action lawsuit, Aguilera has purchased, owned or used four different NuWave ovens that came with standard domes. The domes on all of the products cracked after minimal use, she says.

When she contacted NuWave’s customer service hotline, Aguilera was reportedly told the replacement dome was out of stock and that she could either wait for it to be back in stock or purchase the allegedly stronger Power Dome. Either option would require her to pay shipping and handling costs, the NuWave class action lawsuit says.

Aguilera filed the NuWave class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and a proposed Class of consumers in the United States who purchased any product containing the NuWave standard dome, including the NuWave Oven Pro and NuWave Oven Pro Plus, for household purposes and not for resale. She also seeks to represent a Florida subclass.

The NuWave Oven Pro class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, violation of the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, violation of Florida consumer protection laws, and unjust enrichment.

Aguilera is represented by Mack H. Reed, Melissa S. Weiner and Christopher J. Moreland of Halunen Law; Hassan A. Zavareei of Tycko & Zavareei LLP; and Jeffrey M. Ostrow and Jonathan Streisfeld of Kopelowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg Gilbert.

The NuWave Cracked Oven Dome Class Action Lawsuit is Elizabeth Aguilera v. NuWave LLC, Case No. 1:18-cv-03550, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.