Carrier Corp. Faces Class Action Suit
October 10, 2006 – Homeowners in Ontario and Wisconsin have filed separate class-action suits against Carrier Corp., seeking compensation for corrosion in furnaces sold since the mid-1980s under the Carrier, Bryant, Day Night, or Payne brand names.
The Ontario suit, filed in Toronto, is brought on behalf of all Canadians with the allegedly defective furnaces. The class action filed in Madison, Wis., is brought on behalf of an estimated 200,000 furnace owners.
The Statement of Claim alleges that beginning in the mid-1980s, Carrier started manufacturing its high-end furnaces out of inferior material that corrodes and prematurely fails, without disclosing that fact to consumers.
The complaints in each case allege that Carrier stopped using stainless steel secondary heat exchangers in favour of cheaper polypropylene-laminated mild steel. Plaintiffs allege that the polypropylene separates from the steel and degrades due to the high temperatures in the furnace, exposing the underlying mild steel to acidic condensate.
In Canada, Carrier warrants the heat exchanger for 20 years. Despite these warranties, plaintiffs allege that Carrier’s condensing furnaces fail prematurely and well before their warranted and expected life. To view a complete copy of the Press Release on CBC.ca please click here.
Update July 31, 2007
The plaintiffs’ motion materials in support of certification of this class proceeding have now been served and filed with the Court. The materials included an affidavit from each of our representative plaintiffs along with the affidavit of our experts. We will update this site once we have a date for the hearing of the certification motion before the Court.
Contact Rochon | Genova LLP
If you are an property owner and have a Carrier furnance please contact us to complete our questionnaire about your furnance and to be added to the mailing list for this class action.
If you are looking for more information about this or other class actions Rochon Genova is involved in, please click here.