Ken-Tool Class Action Claims Tire Irons Run Shorter Than Advertised

An Illinois man claims Ken-Tool tire irons are being falsely advertised as longer than they actually are.

Plaintiff Alejandro Reyes claims Ken-Tool Company and Summit Tool Company have been deceiving consumers by overstating the length of Ken-Tool tire irons.

Purchasers of these tire irons end up paying more than they should have for a tool that doesn’t perform the way they were reasonably led to expect, Reyes says.

Ken-Tool Company products are available at 870 retail locations nationwide, according to the company’s website. Summit Tool Company holds itself out as a division of Ken-Tool Company, the lawsuit states.

According to this Ken-Tool tire iron class action lawsuit, several different Ken-Tool tire irons are subject to the alleged false advertisement. The T45HD truck tire iron, for example, is advertised as being 41 inches long but Reyes says that tire iron actually measures 39 1/2 inches in length.

Reyes alleges the shorter length of the Ken-Tool tire iron makes a material difference in the tool’s performance, providing less torque than a longer iron would.

“By providing a shorter tire iron than advertised, Defendants deprive consumers of torque that grows in strength in direct proportion to the length of the tire iron,” Reyes says. “Additionally, Plaintiff and the Class paid for more steel than they actually received.”

The length of a tire iron has material bearing on a consumer’s decision to buy it, Reyes claims, and consumers would reasonably rely on the companies’ representations as to that length. He accuses the two companies of willfully misrepresenting the length of Ken-Tool tire irons so that he and proposed Class Members would overpay for them.

Reyes says he has purchased more than one Ken-Tool tire iron, including a T45HD he bought in Cook County, Ill. in February 2016. He allegedly relied on the defendants’ representations that the tire iron was truly 41 inches long. He would not have purchased that Ken-Tool tire iron if he had known it was any shorter, he claims.

This Ken-Tool tire iron class action lawsuit raises claims under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Act and similar statutes of every other U.S. state. It also raises claims for common law fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.

Reyes seeks to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of “[a]ll persons and entities in the United States who purchased a Ken-Tool tire iron that was shorter in length than advertised.” He also proposes a subclass of Class Members who reside in Illinois.

He seeks a court order that would enjoin Ken-Tool and Summit Tool from making allegedly false representations about Ken-Tool tire irons. He is also asking for an award of damages, court costs and attorneys’ fees.

Reyes is represented by attorneys Thomas A. Zimmerman Jr., Amelia S. Newton, Sharon A. Harris, Matthew C. De Re, Nickolas J. Hagman and Maebetty Kirby of Zimmerman Law Offices PC.

The Ken-Tool Tire Iron Class Action Lawsuit is Alejandro Reyes v. Summit Tool Company, et al., Case No. 2017CH02025, in the Circuit Court for Cook County, Illinois.