| JK Leonard obtains defense verdict for B&W client | | 5/22/2009 | Shareholder J.K. Leonard, assisted by appellate shareholder, Christopher J. Deeves, successfully defended Electrolux Home Products Inc., the manufacturer of a Frigidaire home refrigerator, in a recent product liability trial. Plaintiffs alleged that a manufacturing defect in the refrigerator’s wiring caused a fire during the early morning hours of February 4, 2007, resulting in the death of one individual and seriously injuring another.
The refrigerator had been purchased used approximately three months before the fire. The circumstances of the refrigerator's use and the identity of its former owner(s) was unknown. Plaintiffs claimed that the compressor wiring contained a manufacturing defect, either in the form of sub-standard PVC insulation or resulting from damage to the conductor itself, which Plaintiffs alleged led to series arcing, overheating and degradation of the insulation. Plaintiffs claimed that this defect caused an arcing event to occur between the compressor wiring and a cover plate on the back of the refrigerator, igniting other control wiring and nearby combustibles and eventually spreading to the structure itself. One individual in the home suffered fatal injuries, leaving behind two daughters (age 17 and 4 at the time), as well as an adult daughter and mother. A friend of the deceased who was staying at the home suffered minor burn injuries, but significant inhalation injuries. Plaintiffs’ claims against Electrolux were based primarily on the absence of arcing activity found in the home except for the arc on the refrigerator and the major damage to the house structure directly behind the refrigerator. Electrolux contended there was no manufacturing defect in the refrigerator, that the refrigerator was too old at the time of the fire to reasonably infer a manufacturing defect was the cause. Electrolux also argued that the arc was the result of the refrigerator being attacked by a fire, not the cause of the fire. Electrolux offered evidence of an alternate origin in close proximity to the refrigerator (not within or on the refrigerator itself), but the cause of the fire was undetermined.
During closing arguments, plaintiffs asked the jury to award approximately $41,000,000.00 against Electrolux. On March 12, 2009, after a week-long trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict absolving Electrolux of any responsibility after approximately seventy minutes of deliberation. | | |
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