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Duracell 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
I am shocked and disappointed at Duracell. They used to be the Cadillac of batteries but no more. I had an A/C remote, carbon monoxide detector and tv remote all get destroyed due to leaking Duracells. NEVER before did I have this happen. If they made a defective batch, own up to it and send consumers something like vouchers or coupons to make up for the mistake. But to do nothing in my eyes is blatant disregard for the consumer. Funny, I used to have 100% faith in their product. Now I will never buy another Duracell battery.
Just had a TV remote ruined by leaking duracell batteries. Tried to turn on the TV with the remote and it didn’t work. Then I opened the remote and there it is… a white colored crystalline like residue everywhere along with a clear thick liquid.
Just opened up our TV remote control which we use everyday as it was slowing down. Guess what? Even though the remote was still working, both batteries had leaked creating the typical white crystalline corrosive mess. The best before date on these is Dec 2023. Go figure. Duracell once had a decent reputation. Now they are crap.
Same experience with AA batteries by Duracell. My trail camera quit working ( no pictures taken) when i opened the battery holder there was an oily liquid all over it. Two of the eight batteries leaked. Will not use Duracell any longer.
same exact thing happened with mine. did you try to get Duracell to make good?
I too have had many Duracell battery leaking issues over the last couple years. Thought it was a fluke at first but finally noticed the problem with about anything I have put their AA battery in lately. My wife tried new Duracell AA batteries in a prop at her retail store – the first set didn’t light the fixture and got very very hot, the next set (out of the same pack) worked but appeared low on power, then the third set worked ok. I just bought a 40-pack thinking maybe the new ones were better, but after my wife’s problems with them at work and my own experiences with them leaking, they are being returned tomorrow. Used to be great batteries, now they are junk in my opinion. Like the guy said above, cheap brand batteries have proved better for me than Duracell recently. They just lost a loyal customer.
This is written because I, too, am fed up with leaking Duracell (AA) batteries! My experiences reflect most of those as stated above: a long-time user, thought they were the best at one time, they have ruined some of my electronics, and now they are the worst product ever. I always write the installation date on batteries just to see how long they last. A seldom-used transistor radio had the same set of four AA Duracells in it from 1997 to 2014; they finally died, but did not leak or corrode. In the last month I have had AA Duracell leaks in a radio and a clock after 15 months of use. These batteries were stamped with a 2024 date. I am now looking for a different brand of battery.
I have experienced exactly the same issue in the past year with multiple devices. Batteries were marked 2023 expiration and all leaked and corroded my electronic devices. I have been a loyal Duracell user for many years with absolutely no issues with leaking….. Moving on to another brand. A complete marketing and technical breakdown at P&G / Duracell brand management….. A complete destruction of brand equity / loyalty
AAAUUUGH! This really is a major issue, I have several nice things from LED flashlights to soap dispensers, remote controls, etc. that have leaking AA & AAA Duraccell batteries. I even have 2 packages of NEW batteries that are leaking in the package!!!! What can be done to stop this? Being a long time Duraccell consumer, I am now faced with switching brands and have decided to use Costco Kirkland brand as I know they will at least give me replacement batteries and have the power to affect change from their suppliers!
I volunteer at a church run thrift store, where 100% of the proceeds go to charity. My function is to test the electronics and verify their condition. By far the number one destroyer is Duracell batteries. This company should be ashamed of producing an inferior product and relying on advertising to induce and fool customers to purchase this inferior product.
On two separate occasions over the past month (Feb 2016) I purchased Duracell AAA Batteries and what do you know–all 16 of them leaked. I advise everyone to check all your electronics for this defect. Never again will I purchase Duracell Batteries. What is quite surprising is that Duracell has done nothing to fix the leaks even after so many, many years of consumer complaints. And I am sure that Duracell has now intentionally built this defect into its business model so as to shaft its customers. Otherwise, Duracell would have fixed this problem already. I suggest that Duracell sell its battery business to a competitor that actually knows how to make batteries and is not in the business of screwing its customers.