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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
Brand new toilet and it is constantly leaking. Clearly a manufacturer issue. Can’t even figure out how to replace the seal. May just have to replace it with another new toilet. Anything other than American Standard. What a huge waste of money.
We purchased an American Standard Champion 4 toilet a few years ago, and shortly thereafter it started leaking. I contacted the company, who sent me 2 replacements of the mechanics inside. I replaced one, and again, it leaked water from the tank almost constantly. I had to shut off the water to get the leaking to stop. Once again I replaced the parts a 2nd time, and it began leaking the same day.
The only remedy was to tear out the toilet and replace it completely. I was unaware of a class action lawsuit until today when I searched online to learn there have been many reports of leaking with this particular toilet. Could you please advise if there is any compensation (such as a refund) from this costly and problematic toilet? Thank you.
I have replace at least 6 of these bubbled seals on Champion 4 toilets. I just replaced one on 10/3/22. That toilet is only a couple years old so they definately have not fixed it. It is always the same time. Multiple bubbles on the seal as it seems to be delaminating I’m guessing from the chlorine in the water. I paid almost $8 for the new seal. They use to be about $3. I think they figured out this is a real money maker. Keep selling a defective product and then keep raising the price. I would have paid $50 for the seal. It was that or rip the toilet out. I assume there is only 1 OEM manufacturer of this product!!
Same here! Now it is leaking on the side of the tank with NO cracks, it seems to be seeping through the porcelain!! Not happy since I installed 3 in my home!!
My Champion Ghost flushes. Replacement seal lasted a short time. Just got a seal from American Standard. Leaks worse than the old one. They told me it was an upgraded seal. BS
how do I get into the lawsuit? I foolishly bought 2 AS toilet that have the same problems.
I got the Champions because in a house with 4 teenage boys I was smitten with the clog-free concept. I have had water bills in the upper hundreds. I have had the valves replaced so many times I can’t count. I am desperately searching for other options that are reliable and hopefully clog free.
American Standard developed an inferior product and won’t admit they have a huge issue with their Champion 4 toilet. Otherwise why do they keep selling this defective product? After reading multiple complaints about the flush valve leaking even after replacing the seal multiple times is ridiculous. However this seems to be the NEW corporate America standard of so called quality. It’s called “Take their money and screw the consumer”. I strongly advise anyone considering purchasing a American Standard product to run in the opposite direction as fast as you can. There are other great products on the market. Don’t get stuck with a lemon like the Champion 4.
I have four of those toilets and I’m now having to fix all of them. I’d like to get into the Class Action Lawsuit as we all should!
Same issue on 2 AS toilets as above. As soon as installed, they started leaking. It’s great that there is a class action being filed but the lack of information on it here is frustrating.
Either 2 or all 3vof my Champion 4 toilets are leaking. Installed them within days of each other. Water bills going up as it refills 15 or more times each hour
I have the Champion Max 4 and have had nothing but problems with this. The first one had cracks in the bowl which showed up a year after it was installed. American Standard sent me a new one. The new one is ghost flushing. I first noticed my water bill increasing and now I know why. This thing ghost flushes all day. If my experience is indicative of the quality of American Standard products I’ll I’ll never buy one again.