Whirlpool Energy Star Class Action Should Get Class Cert., Plaintiff Says

On Monday, a plaintiff asked a New York federal judge to grant Class certification to a class action lawsuit that alleges Whirlpool Corp. falsely labeled some of its washing machines as energy efficient.

According to the Whirlpool class action lawsuit, certain Maytag Centennial washing machines sold by Whirlpool included an Energy Star logo, which indicates the appliance meets certain energy efficiency standards.

However, testing by the U.S. Department of Energy reportedly demonstrated the washing machines consume significantly more water and electricity than indicated by their Energy Star labels.

Based on the DOE’s testing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reportedly found that the Whirlpool washing machines were not qualified to bear the Energy Star label.

Plaintiff Walt Famular claims that this determination by the EPA makes it easy to identify putative Class Members in his Maytag Centennial washing machine class action lawsuit.

“It will be exceedingly simple,” Famular states in a memo supporting his motion for Class certification. He claims that it is only necessary to prove two facts to establish Whirlpool’s liability: that every washing machine sold to every Class Member bore the Energy Star label and that every one of those Energy Star labels was false because the DOE’s testing demonstrated the washing machines failed to meet the appropriate energy efficiency standard.

Famular asserts that both of these facts have already been established as true, making it easy to establish commonality among Class Members who purchased the falsely labeled Whirlpool Energy Star washing machines.

Further, Famular states that each Class Member experienced financial damages after purchasing the mislabeled Energy Star washers. According to the Whirlpool class action lawsuit, Class Members paid more for the washing machines than they otherwise would have paid because they believed they would enjoy lower utility bills over the life of the washer. However, due to the false claims of energy efficiency, each Class Member would actually incur higher utility bills.

According to the memo supporting Class certification, each of these facts “can be proven entirely with common classwide evidence. Indeed, they already have been, as each is established by Whirlpool’s own admissions, or through the actions of the federal government, including both DOE and EPA.”

Home Depot Inc., Sears Holdings Corp. and Lowe’s Home Centers LLC were previously listed as a defendant in Famular’s Whirlpool Energy Star class action lawsuit, but a judge dismissed the retailers from the complaint in January after finding the plaintiff provided no proof linking them to Whirlpool’s warranty. The judge, however, allowed Famular’s breach of warranty claims against Whirlpool to proceed.

Famular is represented by Scott A. Bursor, Neal J. Deckant, Joseph I. Marchese and Frederick J. Klorczyck III of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Whirlpool Energy Star Class Action Lawsuit is Walt Famular v. Whirlpool Corp., et al., Case No. 7:16-cv-00944, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.