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Two Ohio landlords say the makers of Champion toilets have failed to properly address a defective and leaky flush valve seal.
Plaintiffs Rachel Papp and Reginald Friesen are suing defendant AS America Inc., the makers of the Champion toilet. The plaintiffs claim the flush valve seal within the Champion 4 toilet is defectively designed and manufactured in a way that ends up causing substantial leaks.
The flush valve seal is part of a toilet’s flushing mechanism that keeps water from leaking out of the tank until a person flushes the toilet. The problem with the flush valve seal on the defendant’s Champion 4 toilet is a blister that develops on the seal’s surface after a short period of time, according to the plaintiffs.
As the blister grows, it creates a leak path. More and more water leaks out of the tank, leading to excessive water bills. The alleged defect can also impair the Champion toilet’s normal function; plaintiffs claim the leak can become so large that the toilet occasionally flushes itself.
Photos included in this Champion toilet class action lawsuit show blue flush valve seals, all of which have visible blisters near their edges, matching the plaintiffs’ description of the alleged defect.
The plaintiffs accuse defendant AS America of failing to fix the design of its flush valve seal, even though the company is allegedly aware of the defect. They claim this defect should be covered by the 10-year express warranty that AS America offers on its Champion toilets.
Papp says she became aware of the alleged defect in August 2016, when she noticed that the water usage at her rental property had increased by 30 percent. Her contractor allegedly traced the problem to the flush valve seal in her Champion 4 toilet later that November. The contractor replaced the seal at Papp’s expense, and only after Papp had incurred substantially higher water bills due to the leak.
Friesen says he had a similar experience with the Champion toilets he purchased for his own home and for rental properties owned by Candu Properties. He says tenants at his residential properties complained that their toilets were running and occasionally flushing on their own.
Friesen claims he inspected these Champion toilets and found blisters on their flush valve seals. He contacted AS America about the problem. The company supposedly told him it was aware of the problem and sent him a replacement flush valve seal.
But the new seal suffered from the same defect, Friesen says. It eventually blistered up like the first seal and caused a leak. Friesen also reports that although AS America did send him the new seal, it did not cover the cost of the repair.
The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class covering all persons or entities in the U.S. who purchased a Champion 4 toilet made by AS America within the past 10 years.
They seek an award of damages, restitution and disgorgement of profits, and reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation, all with interest.
Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys Brendon P. Friesen, Anthony J. Coyne and Emily S. O’Connor of Mansour Gavin LPA as well as Stuart E. Scott and Dennis R. Lansdowne of Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP.
The Champion Toilet Defective Flush Valve Seal Class Action Lawsuit is Rachel Papp, et al. v. AS America Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-00800, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
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56 thoughts onChampion Toilets Class Action Says Flush Valve Seal is Defective
I bought eight of these toilets between 2009 and 2012 for my primary residence and for my rental properties and they ALL leak. I have personally replaced the flush seal many times; including multiple times on the same toilet. And now another one has just failed as well. I want AS to fully refund me for all the toilets.
I have the same problem, replace the blue seal by the flapper but still leaks and the toilet is continuosly refilling. From the rest of the comments on this site Im not alone, sounds like from others that there isnt a fix and American Standard isnt very helpful.
Same problem replaced blistered seal after three months cup hearing my well pump turn on and off every 20 minutes.
I bought my American Standard Champion 4 toilet last year. Remolded my toilet in March 2019. September 2019 I noticed my water bill going up and up and couldn’t find a problem but we were using more water and we didn’t change any of the way’s we lived our life. In Januarary 2020 I started hearing faint water running noise in my bathroom and discovered it was my toilet leaking water into the bowl a little at a time every hour or so. The plumber said the seal was no good and had to replace it.
Found this looking for a solution to what seemed like a simple problem. I replace the o-ring every 4-5 months. The last time it last 3 weeks and leaks. Glad to know they are being held accountable.
Just curious, do you use drop in cleaners like the bleach discs that go in the tank? I have the same problem with the cooler seals and just read a report saying that the cleaning agents caused the blistering.
2 American Standard Champion 4 toilets, replaced the top -O ring twice in 2 years.
2 champion 4 toilets. Changed the valve seal several times. Toilets came new with the house in 2013. Going to replace valves now
I did not realize my 2 1/2 year old Champion 4 toilet was having a problem until I got a very hich water bill. When I called the water department I found that my usage had increased from 6000 gallons to 11000 gallons for the same period from last year. After reading online I found out about the gasket forming water filled bubbles. I took my gasket out and counted 20 bubbles on the one surface and 7 on the other. American Standard has known about this problem for at least 6 years and has done nothing to change the design or material and when you call them they tell you if the print on your warranty has faded,you have no warranty. The also indicate you should replace this gasket periodicaly even though the manual for the toilet says nothing about it. The toilet I replaced was installed in 1960 and I replaced the rubber flush valve once in 56 years.
I am having the same problem, I bought the toilet 5/14/2018
I’ve called American standard and they have sent a new sealed out and after replacing I still have water leak . This toilet shouldn’t be on the shelf for sale. It’s causing more headaches and wasting people’s time . It should be recalled.
2 Champion 4 toilets purchased 1/26/2016 required numerous repairs for leaking. Replaced with 2 Kohler toilets 12/15/2018.