Property Owners Want Judge to Give Final Approval to Uponor Class Action Settlement

Homeowners and property owners who had Uponor Corp. high-zinc “yellow brass” fittings installed in their properties that broke down prematurely have asked a Minnesota federal judge to give final approval to a $21 million class action settlement.

“After months of settlement negotiations and years of litigation, the parties reached a settlement to resolve all claims related to high-zinc brass plumbing fittings (and other brass components) designed and/or sold by Defendants Uponor, Inc., et al. … and installed in residential and non-residential properties through the United States from 2002 through the present time as part of the Uponor/Wirsbo PEX Systems,” the plaintiffs write in their motion for final approval of the class action settlement.

Under the terms of the deal, a minimum of $3 million will be put into a common fund by Uponor from which Class Members will be paid. Homeowners who had damage caused by the yellow brass fittings may receive up to $60,000 to cover the damage at residential properties and $100,000 for commercial properties.

In addition, the Uponor class action settlement “provides an enhanced and extended warranty for dezincification-related issues with Uponor [yellow brass fittings], substantial reimbursement for past and future damages and repairs covered under the enhanced warranty, and coverage for complete system replacement in structures experiencing multiple product failures.”

The plaintiffs say that the response from Class Members support approving the Uponor class action settlement: no Class Member has objected to the deal, only three have opted out, 239 claim forms have been downloaded from the website, and 49 claims have already been filed.

“The Class Members favorable response provides convincing evidence that the settlement is fair and reasonable and warrants this Court’s final approval,” the plaintiffs write in their motion.

The Uponor yellow brass fittings class action lawsuit is also set to pay class attorneys $7.5 million. The plaintiffs argue that this amount is more than reasonable.

“Class Counsel litigated this case with no promise of recovery or payment and invested their time and money in this litigation,” the plaintiffs say in their motion. “Class Counsel shouldered all costs and faced considerable risk in prosecuting this case on behalf of Class Representatives for over three years.”

An $18 million class action settlement must also be approved by a Nevada federal judge on behalf of the Nevada class in order for the nationwide class action settlement to be approved, as well as a group of claims filed by California and Arizona homeowners.

Uponor was hit with the defective brass fittings class action lawsuit in 2012 by plaintiff Tim George, alleging that pipe fittings, which are made up of a high-zinc content go through a “dezincification” when exposed to water.

This allegedly causes the pipes to corrode and leak as well as puts small amounts of lead into the water, which can cause damage to appliances, such as dishwashers and water heaters.

The plaintiffs are represented by J. Randall Jones of Kemp Jones & Coulthard LLP, Robert C. Maddox of Maddox Isaacson & Cisneros LLP, Scott K. Canepa of Canepa Riedy & Rubino, Charles Hopper of Lynch Hopper Salzano & Smith LLP and James D. Carraway of Carraway & Associates LLC, among others.

Uponor is represented by Howard L. Lieber, Daniel W. Berglund and John R. Schleiter ofGrotefeld Hoffmann Schleiter Gordon & Ochoa LLP.

The Uponor Brass Pipe Fitting Class Action Lawsuit is George v. Uponor, Inc. et al, Case No. 12-cv-00249 in the U.S. District Court for Minnesota.