Sealy Mattress Warranty Class Action Lawsuit

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Sealy Mattress Warranty Class Action Lawsuit

By Sarah Pierce

A federal class action lawsuit claims Sealy Corporation has established a uniform and nationwide policy of routinely denying all warranty claims when any stains, no matter how minor, are found on a customer’s bedding, making it impossible for customers to return their defective Sealy mattresses. 

According to the class action lawsuit, Sealy includes an express written warranty on all bedding purchases that guarantees replacement, repair or refund of the mattress or box spring if the products develop or exhibit certain defects through normal use. Two examples of listed, common defects are “body indentations of 1.5 inches” and “unnatural sagging.”

Plaintiff Adam Savett claims in the Sealy class action lawsuit that when he sought warranty coverage on his defective Sealy mattress, Sealy’s inspectors found indentations larger than 1.5 inches and/or unnatural sagging and determined that the mattress was defective and should be replaced under warranty. However, “as would be expected on any mattress, inspectors also noted the presence of minor stains unrelated to and having no casual impact on the indentation or unnatural sagging.”

Despite acknowledging that his mattress was defective and should be replaced under warranty, Sealy and its agents refused to provide Savett with a replacement mattress or repair “solely because of the existence of these minor stains,” the class action lawsuit states.

The problem, the class action lawsuit says, is that Sealy’s warranties for products purchased before 2008 states that it will not cover “products found to be in an Unreasonably Unsanitary Condition,” but it does not define this term. Warranties for products purchased after 2008 describe this condition as being “so pervasively soiled that an inspector is unable to conduct an appropriate inspection of the condition of the product without being exposed to potentially dangerous bodily fluids, blood borne pathogens, or other substances that could cause significant injury.”

By its own definitions, the class action says, “Sealy’s warranty does not give it the right to refuse to provide replacement product, repair, or refund solely because of ‘stains’ on a mattress. Moreover, by Sealy’s own definition, ‘stains’ on a mattress are not hazardous or ‘unsanitary’ unless they are so pervasive that an inspector cannot conduct an appropriate inspection absent risk of significant injury. Plaintiff alleges, on information and belief, that this has very rarely, if ever, occurred.”

The proposed Sealy mattress class action is brought on behalf of anyone nationwide who has purchased a Sealy bedding product (Sealy, Sealy Posturepedic, Stearns & Foster and/or Basset) from an authorized retailer, sought warranty coverage within the applicable Sealy warranty period, and were denied coverage solely because of staining. 

It is seeking class certification, an injunction required Sealy to abide by the express terms of its written warranty, and an award to class members of compensatory, exemplary and/or statutory damages and interest. 

The case is titled Adam T. Savett, et al. v. Sealy Corporation, Civil No. 1:11-cv-336, United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Greensboro Division.