Courtney Jorstad  |  December 2, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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DuracellDuracell Coppertop Duralock batteries are prone to leaking battery fluid during normal use, a recent deceptive marketing class act lawsuit claims.

Plaintiffs Lauren Carlson and Jamal Yusuf, both of Massachusetts, filed their Duracell class action lawsuit in a Massachusetts federal court on Nov. 19 against Duracell makers The Gillette Company and The Proctor & Gamble Company.

“Plaintiffs allege that Defendants concealed and misrepresented material facts concerning potential battery leakage during the intended use of their Duracell Batteries,” the explain in their Duracell Batteries class action lawsuit.

Duracell announced in a June 2012 press release that it would be launching batteries that came with “Duralock Power Preserve Technology.” These batteries would have a “Duralock ring” marked on them and would come with a ten year guarantee in storage, not while being used.

This 10 year guarantee was marked prominently on Duracell Coppertop packaging for AA and AAA size batteries.

The Duralock batteries were also part of an advertising campaign, which included both radio and television ads.

“On each of the Duracell Batteries, Defendants placed a date ten years in the future to affirmatively represent the date that the battery is guaranteed not to fail,” the Duracell Batteries class action lawsuit states.

“Nowhere on the packaging of the Duracell Batteries is the disclosure that the batteries may leak when used in a normal and expected manner,” it adds.

However, Carlson and Yusuf allege that they do “leak even when used in a normal and expected manner.”

They also allege that Gillette and Proctor & Gamble “conspicuously failed to disclose that the Duracell Batteries leak when not in use and the leakage can damage any device that the batteries are stored in.”

In addition, the “defendants’ glaring omission that the batteries can leak and ruin electronic devices would, and did, mislead reasonable consumers,” they allege.

According to Carlson and Yusuf, the Duracell makers “had knowledge of the problem of leakage in their AA and AAA sized batteries under normal conditions of use intended by Defendants.”

The Massachusetts’ plaintiffs claim that “numerous complaints” were “filed directly with defendants by showing dates throughout the class period showing a leakage problem.”

They further allege that Gillette and Proctor & Gamble relied on the fact that most consumers don’t put a lot of thought into their batteries and “withheld critical information in order to increase sales and/or their market share.”

The plaintiffs claim that they did rely on the advertising campaign when purchasing Duracell Batteries with the 10 year guarantee and “believed that the batteries purchased would not fail for ten years.”

They are proposing a class that includes “all purchasers in Massachusetts who bought Duracell Coppertop AA and AAA batteries with Duralock beginning June 1, 2012 throughout the date of notice.”

Carlson and Yusuf are charging the defendants with breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose and unjust enrichment.

The plaintiffs are represented by Erica Mirabella of Mirabella Law, LLC, by Richard Barrett and Barrett J. Clisby of Barrett J. Clisby PLLC, by Dewitt Lovelace and Valierie Lauro Nettles of Lovelace and Associates, PA, by Charles Barret of Charles Barrett, PC, by Thomas Thrash of Thrash Law Firm, PA, Ben Pierce Gore of Pratt & Associates, by Charles LaDuca and Taylor Asen of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP.

The Duracell Batteries False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Lauren Carlson, et al. v. The Gillette Company, et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-14201, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

UPDATE: The Duracell battery class action lawsuit was dismissed on Oct. 21, 2015.

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149 thoughts onDuracell Batteries Leak In Normal Use, Class Action Claims

  1. Morgan Hughes says:

    Dec. 7, 2022
    Duracell

    Dear Duracell:
    I have a complaint regarding replacement of equip from your defected battery; and time that I can’t give back to my customer or myself. This has been my go to battery for over 8 year.
    The battery leaks when it get hot; the acid liquid can cause a lot of problem if a child toy is left on a child ingest or but in their mouth or in the eye.
    I have in closed some photos of my equipment description of the areas of destruction do from the batteries. We have over 100-150 batteries in items all over the house, one discharged last night in a hand design pieces set to come on automatic. We hope none will start a fire.
    I want to know how your company going to rectify these issues?

  2. Dan Albert Hermann says:

    It seems that Duracell batteries I used 20 or 30 years ago never leaked. Just in the past 10 years. What gives. Did they change something in manufacture? are they now made in China? I used to trust Duracell batteries in all my electronics. Now I can.t

  3. Mark Harris says:

    I have lost many cordless devices due to leaking and corrosion caused by Duracell AAA and AA batteries.

  4. Daniel K says:

    I’m an Electrical Engineer. I have 3 college degrees. I have 21 TV sets in my house along with various electronics that currently utilizes well over 100 batteries. Yes, I have a large house and Yes my family has a lot of battery operated devices. I have been using various types of Duracell batteries for over 40 years and I can assure you that the Duracell batteries that have been made over the past 10 years or so are absolutely garbage. Duracell batteries will positively leak. It doesn’t matter whether they are placed in a device or left in the original package, they will leak and swell. Being that I repair electronic devices for a living, I’ve had well over 500 devices come across my bench that have been ruined by leaking Duracell batteries. I’ve taken pictures of numerous devices destroyed by Duracell batteries. Do NOT buy them. Buy any other brand of battery.

  5. Miss lucky says:

    Recently bought AAA Duracell batteries,(april,2022) that are STILL FAULTY! Never heard anything about their faulty product. From 2012 to now(10 years)Lucky I was home,unlucky to buy their product!! Help!! Fire!!!

  6. rt says:

    DURACELL AAA Alkaline batteries are pretty much quaranteed to leak and destroy your electronics. I’ve lost all faith in the Duracell line of batteries. Batteries with a good to date code of MAR 2027 leaked and damaged my electronics. This is becoming the norm for Duracell AA & AAA alkaline batteries. New batteries leak while still in the blister packaging. What use to be my go to battery is now my avoid using at all cost.
    AAA MN2400 1.5V LR03
    1000370 MAR 2027

  7. Stephen Baldwin says:

    I’ve lost hundreds of dollars in electronics, flashlights, remote controls from leaking Duracell batteries over the last 10 years. Is there any recourse at this point?

    1. Davidwf says:

      I now only use energiser INDUSTRIAL batteries as they dont leak

  8. Susan Gammon says:

    I have Duracell AA 4 pack have not had them very long. Went to get one out of the package and one has leaked in the package.

  9. Cindy Klein says:

    The class action lawsuit should NOT have been dismissed!!! I have had ONLY Duracell leak!!

  10. cheryl hardy says:

    Ive been purchasing them for years and never knew why my devices would burst. Not surprising, things aren’t good anymore. The off brand give you more usage.

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