Class Action Lawsuit Over Mr. Coffee, Sunbeam and CrockPot Coffee Pots Filed Against Newell Brands and Sunbeam

Plaintiffs claim coffee pot warranties contain illegal repair restrictions.

Newell Brands and Sunbeam face a class action lawsuit over fraudulent warranties provided with several of its popular brands of coffee pots, including Mr. Coffee, Sunbeam, Oyster and CrockPot.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Stephanie Schaer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on January 7, claiming that the limited one-year warranty offered with the purchase of the coffee makers contain unlawful repair restrictions that are not disclosed until after purchasing the products.

The Newell Brands and Sunbeam class action lawsuits alleges that Mr. Coffee, Sunbeam, Oyster and CrockPot brand coffee makers were packaged with a one-year warranty to attract customers, when in fact the warranty illegally prevents consumers from choosing their own service repair company or from fixing the coffee pot themselves if it malfunctions.

Shaer claims she purchased a Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker from a Walmart store in Massachusetts in May 2021. Shortly after purchasing the device, it began to slightly malfunction, but she was not able to attempt to fix the product herself without voiding its warranty, due to the allegedly unlawful repair restriction outlined in the limited warranty.

The lawsuit claims that deceptive statements about the one-year warranty were used as part of an illegal marketing scheme, and is an unfair method of restricting competition, by failing to inform consumers about the limitations until after the item has been purchased and opened.

“By conditioning their warranty in this manner, Defendants have violated the tying prohibition in the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which prohibits companies from conditioning their warranties on the consumer’s use of any article or service,” according to the class action complaint.

The lawsuit seeks to represent all consumers who have purchased any Mr. Coffee, Sunbeam, Oyster and CrockPot brand coffee makers with unlawful repair restrictions outlined in their manufacturer warranty.

While the number of devices sold was not outlined in the lawsuit, the brand lines of coffee maker were sold at a variety of popular stores including Walmart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot and online through Amazon.com, Wayfair.com and many others. The lawsuit presents claims of violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, unjust enrichment, fraud and fraudulent omission.

Pressure Cooker Lawsuits Over Safety Feature Failures

The case comes as Newell Brands and Sunbeam already faces a growing number of pressure cooker lawsuits filed in recent months, each raising allegations over unreasonably dangerous designs and missing safety features on products sold in recent years.

In addition to lawsuits over Sunbeam and Crockpot pressure cookers, lawsuits have also been filed against the makers of Instant Pot, Tristar Power Pressure Cookers, CuisineArt, NuWave Pressure Cookers, Aldi Pressure Cookers and other popular brand names of the programmable, electric devices sold since about 2010.

Most of the problems involve severe pressure cooker burn injuries which occurred when the lid was removed while the contents were still under high pressure, typically resulting in burns covering a large percentage of the user’s body. However, other injuries linked to pressure cookers have included eye injuries, broken bones and other complications that resulted from electrocutions, spills or explosions.

As more of these electric pressure cookers have been introduced in recent years, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued several pressure cooker recalls over problems where lids were able to be opened while contents were under pressure, allowing hot contents to be expelled and causing a scald or burn injury to individuals in the immediate area.

A massive Crock-Pot recall was issued in November 2020, impacting nearly 1 million 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers with lid locking defects, after at least 99 burn injuries were reported.