Two federal appeals courts and the U.S. Supreme Court have all refused to block consumer class actions over allegedly mold-prone Whirlpool Corp. washing machines. Whirlpool’s lawyers at Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott fared much better at trial, persuading a Cleveland federal jury on Thursday to reject claims that the company is liable for selling the machines.

Thursday’s verdict, which followed just two hours of deliberation, came in the first bellwether trial in a dozen statewide class actions against the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company. Whirlpool sold millions of the front-loading washers across the country. The plaintiffs say the machines are defective, accumulating mold and requiring expensive maintenance to reduce its smelly effects.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]