Gina Glazer and Trina Allison filed a class action lawsuit in Ohio against Whirlpool because of a perceived design flaw in the front-loading washing machines called “the Duet” series.
Glazier and Allison claim that their washing machines have bad-smelling mold growing in them. They have been unable to get rid of the mold or the bad odor, despite following Whirlpool’s advice.
“The machines fail to clean properly their own mechanical components to eliminate soil and residue deposits known as “biofilm.” The development of biofilm on mechanical parts in turn can lead to rapid growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria in places inside the machines that consumers cannot clean themselves,” the lawsuit alleges .
At the moment, the debate in this case is about class certification. Defense lawyers say that only a tiny minority of washing machine owners have experienced mold problems with their machines.
“When a certified class includes members who have not suffered and are not even likely to suffer harm, it [the class-action lawsuit] includes parties whom a court would never allow to pursue individual actions. Therefore, the class should include only those plaintiffs who actually have a legitimate claim of harm,” law professor J. Gregory Sidak told the Washington Times .
On the surface, this might not sound like such a big deal – unless you are one of the unfortunate few who spent $1000 on one of these washing machines and has an moldy odor problem that refuses to go away.
So, what happens if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the defense?
"The realistic alternative to a class action is not 17 million individual suits, but zero individual suits, as only a lunatic or a fanatic sues for $30,” Judge Richard Posner said, reports Slate .
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