Home Depot Class Action Lawsuit Says Behr DeckOver is Defective

A class action lawsuit filed this week alleges Behr DeckOver deck resurfacing products, which are sold exclusively at Home Depot stores, are defective and deteriorate within months of application.

The Behr DeckOver class action lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Illinois federal court by plaintiffs Kathleen Bishop, Nancy Graf, Jeanne Haman, Tom Paul and Mark Sumpter. They name as defendants Behr Process Corp., The Home Depot Inc. and Home Depot USA Inc.

According to the Home Depot class action lawsuit, deck resurfacer is a type of coating that is meant to reduce the hassle of regular upkeep. Unlike paint or stain, which generally must be reapplied each year or so, resurfacer is a thicker coating that can repair splinters, fill cracks and extend the life of the surface.

The Home Depot website reportedly lists the price of one gallon of DeckOver at about $35, a significantly higher price than paints or stains, according to the Behr resurfacer class action lawsuit.

“DeckOver is marketed as a ‘premium’ product and a superior alternative to traditional paints and stains and thus worth the extra money,” the Behr class action lawsuit alleges. “The product name ‘DeckOver,’ for example, conveys that it will cover decking thus extending its life (or giving the deck a ‘do over’).”

Instead of providing years of protection, however, Behr DeckOver quickly deteriorates and causes extensive damage to the surface upon which the resurfacer is applied, according to the Home Depot resurfacer class action lawsuit. DeckOver allegedly has a tendency to peel, crack, chip, flake, bubble and degrade shortly after application.

“Thus, instead of getting a long-lasting coating, consumers who buy DeckOver often waste considerable time and money first applying DeckOver and then removing it and replacing damaged property,” the plaintiffs allege.

According to the Home Depot class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs each purchased Behr DeckOver and applied the resurfacer according to the instructions provided by Behr. However, they all noticed that the resurfacer began to fail prematurely, and as a result, they have had to incur out-of-pocket expenses to repair the damage including the cost of repair and/or replacement of the deck.

Behr has not fully reimbursed any of the plaintiffs for the damages they incurred after applying the allegedly defective DeckOver resurfacer, the Home Depot class action lawsuit alleges. The plaintiffs maintain they would not have purchased or used Behr DeckOver if they had known it would not perform as advertised.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of U.S. consumers who purchased Behr DeckOver. The Behr class action lawsuit asserts claims for declaratory relief, injunctive and/or equitable relief, unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation, violation of various state consumer protection laws, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and violation of the California False Advertising Law.

The plaintiffs are represented by Katrina Carroll, Kyle A. Shamberg and Ismael T. Salam of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC.

The Home Depot Behr DeckOver Class Action Lawsuit is Kathleen Bishop, et al. v. Behr Process Corp., et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-04464, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

UPDATE: A Behr DeckOver Class Action Settlement has been granted preliminary approval.  According to the settlement website, the claim form will be available on or about August 6, 2018.  Top Class Actions will let our viewers know as soon as the claim form is available.

UPDATE 2: September 2018, the Behr DeckOver class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim. 

UPDATE 3: On April 9, 2020, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the Behr DeckOver class action settlement worth as much as $3,060. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!