WASHINGTON--The Supreme Court on Monday turned away challenges
to large lawsuits over allegedly defective washing machines,
rejecting appeals that sought to place new limits on class-action
claims.
The court's decision to stay out of the dispute marks a breather
for justices who in recent years have issued a string of rulings
disallowing class-action cases. Business groups had filed briefs
supporting the defendants in the washing-machine cases, hoping the
court would yet again cut back on lawsuits in which litigants make
claims on behalf of a large group of plaintiffs.
At issue were class actions alleging certain models of
front-loading washing machines contained defects that caused them
to accumulate mold.
The defendants, including Whirlpool Corp. and a subsidiary of
Sears Holding Corp., argued the cases involved too many
individualized issues to proceed as class actions. Washer owners
varied in how they used their machines and whether they experienced
moldy odors from the products, the defendants said.
The class actions, if allowed, could produce "windfalls for
multitudes of uninjured persons and class-action lawyers,"
Whirlpool said in a court brief.
The plaintiffs said their lawsuits were precisely the type that
deserved to proceed as class-actions. The washer models in dispute,
sold since 2001, were delivered with a uniform design defect that
caused mold accumulation, and buyers had to absorb time and expense
to try to fix the issue, the plaintiffs said in a court brief.
The washers "were designed and delivered to purchasers in a form
unsuitable for their ordinary and intended use," they said.
Companies dislike class-actions because they threaten to impose
large-scale financial liability. Businesses say that once courts
allow class-actions to proceed defendants face enormous pressures
to settle, even in cases that lack merit.
Consumer advocates say class-actions are an important tool for
people to vindicate their legal rights, particularly in relatively
small-money cases where it might not be feasible for consumers to
pursue legal relief individually.
U.S. appeals courts decided to allow the washer cases against
Whirlpool and Sears to proceed as class-actions, ruling the
lawsuits were unaffected by a Supreme Court ruling last year that
tossed out a class-action lawsuit against Comcast Corp.
In a related matter, a federal court in California allowed a
similar class-action lawsuit over Bosch brand washing machines.
The Supreme Court on Monday left those rulings in place,
rejecting the defendants' appeals without comment.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
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