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An Illinois federal judge has granted certification to a class action lawsuit alleging Sears sold deceptive “repair and replace” master protection agreements.
Plaintiffs Nina Greene and Gerald Greene claim that they entered into and paid for several appliance-service agreements with Sears from 1994 to 2014, but that these agreements did not actually cover their products.
The plaintiffs say that the Sears defendants breached their agreements, engaged in deceptive business practices and were unjustly enriched by selling “repair or replace” master protection agreements for appliances that Sears had no intention of repairing or replacing.
The plaintiffs sought to certify a proposed Class of consumers who paid for aftermarket master protection agreements (MPAs) for products that were not covered by or eligible for coverage under the MPA, and who did not receive a full refund.
The plaintiffs also seek to certify a Class of Pennsylvania residents for claims under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
Defendants Sears Protection Company; Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Sears Holdings Corporation fought against Class certification, arguing that the plaintiffs cannot adequately represent the Class, that the Class definition is too broad, and that there is insufficient commonality and predominance to justify handling the case as a class action lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso found that the class action requirements for numerosity and commonality have been met. He found the plaintiffs “demonstrate a commonality of issues consistent with their theory of breach, unjust enrichment, and consumer fraud.”
“Whether Sears sold policies for products that it did not and could not cover is a central question common to the class, and capable of proof at trial through common evidence,” Judge Alonso continued. “Defendants’ insistence that they had no such policy, that MPAs are variable, and that Sears ultimately provided some performance under consumers’ MPAs does not defeat this common contention.”
Judge Alonso also agreed with the plaintiffs’ assertion that they were injured because of the Sears defendants’ sale of MPAs on non-covered items and the fact that they did not receive a full refund.
“That Plaintiffs received a partial refund may affect their damages, but it does not exclude them from the class,” the judge said. “Because Plaintiffs’ claims are based on the same legal theory as those of the class, typicality is satisfied.”
The judge agreed with the Sears defendants’ argument that the limitations period proposed by the plaintiffs was too broad, and limited the nationwide Class to individuals and entities who paid for aftermarket MPAs since March 25, 2005 for products that were not covered by nor eligible for coverage under the MPA and did not receive a full refund.
The Pennsylvania Class is limited to a Class of Pennsylvania residents who paid for aftermarket MPAs since March 25, 2004 to the present and who did not receive a full refund.
A status hearing for the Sears protection plan class action lawsuit has been scheduled for Aug. 29.
The plaintiffs are represented by Marvin A. Miller, Lori A. Fanning and Kathleen E. Boychuck of Miller Law LLC and by Andrew Joseph Belli, David M DeVito, Deborah R. Gross and Benjamin Michael Mather of Kaufman Coren & Ress PC.
The Sears Protection Plan Class Action Lawsuit is Nina Greene, et al. v. Sears Protection Company, et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-02546, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
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157 thoughts onSears Master Protection Agreement Class Action Lawsuit Gets Certified
I am experiencing a similar issue as most of the customers in these comments. I purchased a master protection plan on my refrigerator. Sears 3rd party vendor failed to show and i was advised to hire someone else to come assess the refrigerator. The company i hired came the next day and advised the repair would be about 1500.00 + and would be wise to just purchase another refrigerator. Parts are more than 2 moths out as well. Per Sears request, i submitted the bill to them to see if they would repair or replace, and i am getting the stall/runaround treatment. This is unacceptable!! I have a family of 6, hundreds of dollars of food in the trash, and no resolve!!!
Let me fall in line My refrigerator went out the beginning of the yr someone came out 3 times told me it wasn’t repairable told me he put in a order for a new one in which I keep being denied for but I have the master protection plan they keep stating someone has to come to my home again after messing up the tile on my kitchen floor I work from home they are extremely loud and talk into the phone the whole time after stating I work from home I need a little quiet.. after making several calls and being told I should have been denied and them putting hella orders in its July a family of 5 and still NO NEW Refrigerator 😮💨
I am experiencing a lot of the same issues everyone else is having. We called in a claim for our refrigerator that had been repaired once before. The same issue that we’ve had repaired before they now claim is not covered. I told them to cancel my service and now they won’t stop charging my credit card. This has been in the last 90 days, so I am just in search of ways to get my money back for the service call, and two months worth of charges!
We are experiencing the same thing now, 4
months with no A/C in Arizona and getting the run around.
I have been lied to over and over about my Sears microwave protection agreement. Every promise was followed by a comment that they could not email me and that I would be satisfied. We finally got a replacement microwave which is obviously a repaired microwave because it has so many flaws (we had to order online without seeing the product). The new one was dropped off after we had been told that it would be installed the same day it was delivered. We were told to keep a receipt for having it installed and that we would be reimbursed. We were then told that a check would be mailed to reimburse us for the 139.99 installation and no check ever came. Follow up phone calls reveal that nobody has a record of the “case numbers” that were issued to us and that we should continue to call –each time given a new phone number which results in more lies.
I don’t even know how this company has wronged so many people and is getting away with it. How do we put an end to this and get some justice ?
Sears Home Warranty Service (SHWS) is speculative. They crafted their contract scam under the premise of “if not fixed, we will replace it” with hidden text and conditions undisclosed at the time they sell you their contact.
On October 10 2021, my washer broke and since then until November 30, I had three technicians, supposedly certified, visiting my house and attempting to repair it. Each had a different diagnostic (main motor, capacitor, clutch & spring). It took ten (10) visits to find at the end they could not repair my washer alleging they could not get to the shaft because it was rusted. Sears promised a partial denial, that meant $289.13 refund. Not a replacement. I had no option but to purchase a new washer and drier, of course never from Sears. Evidently, there was no washer and drier anymore under the home warranty service and no point on continuing paying SHWS $69.99 for service on a non existing appliance and of course one they told me could not be fixed. On Dec. 6 after multiple calls with SHWS reps., I called Sears and canceled the home warranty service. They said the partial denial check was to be received within 10 day and a cancellation notice had been sent to my email. No check, no cancelation notice was sent as of Dec. 28 when I called to check the status. On that day SHWS notified my partial denial check had been cancelled and that I owed them near $300 for the technicians who came to try to fix my washer. Nowhere in SHWS contract it estipulares once a refund for partial denial is granted it can be taken away. Furthermore, no clause describes how long their refunds are expected. Therefore, it can be months or years before they can send you your well deserved money and if you cancel Ed the service warranty they will use that as grounds to deny the refund. That is, they will force you into a contract indefinitely as they never tell you when they will issue any refund.
Sears already filled for bankruptcy and having unsatisfied customer or another lawsuit will not cause another dent of concern in their already bitten up and poor business reputation.
Sorry for the innocent and hardworking people and customers who had to pay for the consequences of SHWS’ poor business and unfair practices.
Same for me. Been 4 months without a working dryer. Purchased a “lifetime warranty” with the unit when I bought it from Sears. Seen 6 techs and I have a pile of parts behind my house that they didn’t even put on because somehow they got the dryer to work for the 10 min they were here. Only for it to stop working again after drying 1 load of laundry. Rinse and repeat. I just got off the phone with customer service twice now trying to speak to someone higher up to get my dryer replaced and they just keep going through the schedule a tech BS.
It’s amazing, the quality is just not there anymore. I hope you know that a Kenmore Appliance can be a Samsung, LG, or Blue Sky and many more. Sear does not manufacture anything, they just put their name on it. It’s all Bull, like most things today. We have all these devices to save us time and every day I spend more and more time on phone setup , shopping in such a way I don’t get ripped off, trying to get through traffic, you know, just about everything we do has a brick wall to hit or a hurdle to go over. Crap you know. It’s not us who threw things away, it’s the one man do two man job manufacturing crap No matter where the company is. Quality now has a new definition with strings attached, that spell “bottom line profit management”. It’s all going to come to an end soon, see The Great Reset, so nobody really cares and the Indian Customer service rep is too hard to understand so it becomes DIY for now.
I’ve been waiting 8 months for a burner replacement on my
stove, They keep sending techs to diagnose the same thing,
They have sent techs from 4 different companies,
It’s insane. I want to file a lawsuit,
Patricia. Did you file a lawsuit? I am at the point of thinking about doing just that! I’m dealing with a broken dishwasher since May 2021. So frustrating!.
Leann
the ‘ escalating ‘ department in India outsourcing promised to replace my top freezer but I do not know if to trust them. He wants me to pay extra after they did NOT send me the shelf tray i paid for months ago. I am afraid it will be a scam . Have started reading reviews and all are bad , very bad ! how do I get some action going ??? help !
Same thing too. Has been 3 months without hot water. Had first appt tech came and ordered parts said they would call to set up an appt when they come in. Month later I’m calling to find out where is the part, will escalate and someone will call you back within 3 days, call 3 days later told the same thing on 3 different occasions. Finally have an appt to have the parts installed waited around all morning to get an email saying the technician was here and that he was done. Tech was never here so I called to find out that the tech said the parts they ordered they can’t get so the hot water heater/boiler is not fixable to be replaced. Was told someone from the warranty dept would call within 10 days to set up appt to have replacement installed. Just called now on the 10 day to find out why no one called to find out that they are denying the replacement request because it was a 3rd party tech not a Sears tech that came out and he ordered parts through a 3rd party vendor not Sears and now I’m supposed to wait until the end of next month for a Sears tech to come out and then order the parts through Sears to see if they can get them. Why can’t they just look in the order to see what parts he ordered to see if Sears can get them. Why do they even need to send someone out to do that. That’s a huge waste of time and if the technician said it can’t be fixed then they should go off that and replace it. If you aren’t going to trust the 3rd party techs then why even send them. I’m a single mom that is disabled with a disabled son and has no hot water for months in the winter time. This is crazy.
Same here. Fridge broke in October. They don’t honor their agreement. Sears is in breach of contract. One department blames another. They even blame the tech they sent out to repair which was a third party that they chose. Horrible customer service. They lie and tell you they will call you back in a few days after review. Nobody ever reviews anything. Always back to square one when I call back after waiting on hold for hours. I’m supposed to get a replacement per my contract that they are not fulfilling. What a scam! They need to pay!