Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Sherwin-Williams has asked an Ohio federal judge to throw out a class action lawsuit alleging their SuperDeck and Duckback deck stain is prone to peeling.
In their motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit, Sherwin-Williams says the plaintiffs admitted to only use one of the 16 products named in the lawsuit: The SuperDeck IR Reflective Exterior Semi-Solid Color Waterborne Stain.
Sherwin-Williams explains that the plaintiffs’ complaint shows only vague, formulaic and conclusory statements to support their theory that different products with different formulations can share a common defect.
In addition, Sherwin-Williams states that by only using one of the 16 products at issue, the plaintiffs are alleging a defect in products to which they don’t know anything about.
The plaintiffs “resort to highly conjectural, improbable theorizing that different Products with unique designs that utilize different raw materials could somehow share an unspecified design defect,” the Sherwin-Williams wood deck stain motion to dismiss goes on to say.
The manufacturer says the class action complaint should be thrown out in its entirety because of the plaintiffs abject failure to present claims which are plausible on their face.
The Sherman-Williams wood deck stain class action lawsuit was filed in April 2019 by Eric Rusnock, Andrew Nye and Rose Nye who claim the paint company’s SuperDeck and Duckback products do not perform as advertised and that the defendant’s claims regarding the products’ quality, longevity, and durability are false, deceptive, and misleading.
Rusnock and his fellow plaintiffs say the products at issue in this class action lawsuit routinely crack, chip, peel, mold, and otherwise fail within a short period of time after they are applied. They say the products are not properly designed to achieve the outcomes that they purport to achieve because the products are film-forming rather than penetrative.
In addition, the Sherwin-Williams deck stain class action lawsuit states that the defendant’s instructions for applying the products are not adequate for consumers with damaged decks because they do not instruct the consumers to sand the deck first.
“Defendants knew or should have known of the Products’ defects and inability to meet Defendants’ claims prior to placing the products in the stream of commerce because it is common knowledge in the industry that coatings that are easily susceptible to cracking and peeling in a short period of time are not suitable for decking and could not have lived up to Defendants’ claims,” the Sherwin-Williams wood deck stain class action says.
The Sherwin-Williams deck stain class action lawsuit also states that even though they had knowledge of the defects, the defendants continue to sell, market and warrant the deck stain as a premium product that will live up to the defendant’s claims.
Rusnok says Sherwin-Williams failed to inform customers that the products chip, peel, flake, and otherwise fail to achieve their intended purpose after a short period of time.
The plaintiff states that these omissions are material because customers who purchase these types of products expect that the coatings will be durable and last for an extended period of time.
The consumers argue that if they knew the Sherwin-Williams wood deck stain had defects and that they could not provide the claimed benefits, they would not have purchased the products or would have paid substantially less for them.
“Defendants had no intention of honoring their warranties and concealed this fact from customers in order to induce customers into purchasing the Products with a false belief that they would be protected from a product failure,” the Sherwin-Williams wood deck stain class action lawsuit says.
However, the motion to dismiss the case points out that the plaintiffs’ claim of defect to 15 products that they have never used underscores the overreach of the filed complaint.
In addition, the motion to dismiss points out that the complaint does not mention what Sherwin-Williams supposedly “claimed” as to any of the allegations in the class action lawsuit.
The plaintiffs also fail to allege that they provided pre-suit notice of a purported breach of warranty and allegations about different third-party complaints to not meet the pre-suit notice requirement.
“The Complaint is devoid of any detail setting forth specific, substantive statements and claims which could be construed to have become the ‘basis of the bargain,’” the Shewin-Williams deck stain motion to dismiss says.
Did you purchase Sherwin-Williams SuperDeck or Duckback products and discover they do not work as advertised? Let us know in the comments section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Andrew Baker of The Baker Law Group, Charles E. Shaffer and Nicholas J. Elia of Levin Sedran & Berman LLP, and D. Aaron Rihn of Robert Pierce & Associates.
The Sherwin-Williams Deck Stain Class Action Lawsuit is Rusnock, et al. v. The Sherwin-Williams Company, et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-00908-DAP, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
45 thoughts onSherwin-Williams Wants Wood Deck Stain Class Action Tossed
Is there any action still pending or new action regarding Superdeck product?
My deck is peeling everywhere. It is a terrible product. My neighbor and I had the same painter do our decks and she had the same problem. When is someone going to take ownership of this issue. I am retired and can not afford to redo mine. I will never buy their products again. My painter said it put him out of business with 40 decks doing the same thing.
Four years ago I had my deck floor replaced. I did all the necessary prep work and applied Super Deck. It has started peeling every year and I have reapplied 4 times (consecutive years)after doing the proper prep work!!! This year I’m going with another product NOW that I’m aware this is a Sherwin Williams issue!!
I had same issues with peeling product that then led to rotting my deck . Worst product and when I brought it to SW attention that acted shocked and stood behind product
I am a contractor and a client is trying to sue me over this bad product.
We applied SWILLIAMS SuperDeck stain (Black Fox solid deck stain) to our deck in 2021 after waiting for the new wood to cure. Already, the stain has faded, molded, chipped, and peeled horribly. I am a retired teacher on a fixed income and stained it myself due to expense. What upsets me the most is trusting in the Sherwin-Williams name (which failed me)and now having to go through the labor intensive work of restraining my deck and the cost of buying a different brand of stain. From what I read, this suit has been thrown out. HOW CAN THAT BE with the number of people who have this same complaint posted on
this website? I, as others, have just found out about this.
In August of 2021, I hired a contractor to prep and stain my deck. He talked me into using the Sherwin Williams Super Deck Semi-Solid Deck Stain. Within two months the stain started to peel. By the following Spring, the whole deck was peeling in various places. The contractor is not helping remedy the situation and the Sherwin Williams Rep, Jim Cooper, Alburn Hills, MI, will not return my phone call. As the previous person mentioned, its peeling like a sunburn would peel. My deck is only 5 years old and completely ruined and if even possible, will be very costly to repair.
To add: I would like to join the class action lawsuit also.
I had used the Super Deck water base stain on a new deck that was ready to be stained . Within in 6 months it completely peeled. I just went through the expense of having it sanded and refinished again . I have been in touch with the regional sales rep and put in a claim to Sherwin Williams but have not gotten a final decision. It is known to them that there is an issue with this product. Several in my community have also experienced these same issues.
I put this stain on a deck for a costumer and they call and it was peeling like a sun burn so we had are paint rep come out and he payed for the second time to put it on the same deck well ya it did the same thing j
my costumer call,I would like to be part of this I got video I just leaned about this class acting I am a painter and been for 20 plus years I have never seen it do this ever till last year and now this
I thought it was just the painting company that screwed up my deck, little did I know it was the SuperDeck junk AND the company that recommended it and applied it! I can’t believe the situation this has us all in! This stuff is TERRIBLE!!!!!
I commented in October. My deck is turning black everywhere and rotting so bad. I want to know if this class action claim is going to be pursued.