Law360, New York (October 5, 2016, 2:49 PM EDT) — An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday said Electrolux Home Products Inc. cannot escape a proposed class action alleging its dishwashers spontaneously ignite and cause flooding, concluding the facts are strong enough to bring to court.
U.S. District John Z. Lee said plaintiff Teresa Elward has sufficiently addressed the “who, what, when, where and how” of her breach of warranty and fraud allegations against the dishwasher manufacturer, providing specific examples that show the devices lasted between nine months to two years — instead of nine to 11 years — before they unexpectedly overheated and caught fire.
Electrolux, the world’s second-largest appliance maker, had moved to dismiss suit in July, saying Elward and her proposed class failed to state a claim or offer specific fraud allegations.
But the court disagreed, saying “the well-pleaded complaint describes the who, what, when, where and how of the fraud in painstaking detail.”
That complaint was filed in November and alleges Electrolux’s practice of selling defective dishwashers, which catch fire and cause property damage even when the dishwasher is not running, violates the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Elward claims Electrolux, which sells dishwashers under its own name as well as other brand names including Frigidaire, received complaints about its dishwashers catching fire as early as 2007 and even recalled several models in the U.K. and Australia, but not the U.S.
Despite these complaints, Elward says, Electrolux hid its dishwashers’ safety risks and continued to sell the products, giving no warnings to customers about replacing their units.
Elward, who says the company knew customers’ expected that their dishwashers function without overheating and causing damage, is seeking compensation for “catastrophic” property loss other than the defective washer.
On Tuesday, Judge Lee allowed most of the suit to go forward, but did drop two allegations from the suit. Responding to Electrolux’s argument that there was no threat of future harm, the judge held that she was not entitled to injunctive and declaratory relief. He also tossed Elward’s unjust enrichment claim, after the company argued the claim could not stand without showing improper conduct.
An attorney for Electrolux did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Elward is represented by Edward A. Wallace, Amy E. Keller and Adam M. Prom of WexlerWallace LLP, Arthur Stock and Shannon Carson of Berger & Montague PC, and Gregory F. Coleman and Lisa A. White of Greg Coleman Law PC.
Electrolux is represented by David S. Osterman, Thomas J. O’Grady, Daniel Ian Mee, James W. Ozog and Jennifer L. Rediehs of Goldberg Segalla LLP.
The case is Elward et al. v. Electrolux Home Products Inc., case number 1:15-cv-09882, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
–Editing by Edrienne Su.
This article originally appeared on Law360