Class Action Settlement for LG Refrigerators: Approx. 1.6 Million Models Have Defect That Causes Them to Stop Cooling

By B.N. Frank

Refrigerators aren’t cheap and repairing them isn’t either.

If you’re one of the unlucky people who bought a defective LG model between 2014 and 2017, you can now sue for damages.

From LGFridgeSettlement.com

If You Own an LG Refrigerator, Your Rights May Be Affected by a Class Action Settlement

• You may be eligible for a cash payment if your LG Refrigerator, manufactured between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017, stopped cooling, and you experienced delayed or unsuccessful repairs, replaced your LG Refrigerator or experienced property loss (spoiled food, beverages, medicine, or other perishables, or damage to your property).
• This lawsuit is brought by owners of LG Refrigerators who allege the LG Refrigerators have a defect that causes them to stop cooling. The term “No-Cooling Event” in this Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement means any event when your LG Refrigerator failed to maintain temperature levels necessary to preserve food, beverages, medicine, or other perishables. Plaintiffs allege that LG knew about the defect but kept selling the LG Refrigerators and provided inadequate warranty and repair service. LG denies Plaintiffs’ claims. Both parties have agreed to this Settlement and the terms of the Settlement are summarized in the Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement. You may also read the Settlement Agreement.
• Under the Settlement, owners of LG Refrigerators may submit claims for cash payments for past No-Cooling Events. If you submit a valid and timely claim, you may recover up to $450 based upon your attestation under oath. You may recover more if you support your claim with proof. The Settlement also extends the warranties for the LG Refrigerators and requires important changes to LG’s customer service procedures.

SUMMARY OF SETTLEMENT BENEFITS
FOR PAST AND FUTURE NO-COOLING EVENTS

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM ONLINE NOW

What If My LG Refrigerator Experienced No-Cooling Events In The Past?

• If your LG Refrigerator experienced a No-Cooling Event, you can receive cash payments under the Settlement if (a) you paid for parts or labor to have your refrigerator repaired; (b) had unsuccessful repairs; (c) had delayed repairs; (d) suffered property loss or property damage including the value of any spoiled food, beverages, medicine, or other perishables, or damage to property; and/or (e) replaced your LG Refrigerator after a No-Cooling Event.
• You can support your Claim Form with only a statement under oath (in which case you will receive up to $450 depending on the information supplied on your Claim Form) OR you can support your Claim with additional proof, in which case you may be eligible to receive greater cash payments.
• Proof may include receipts, invoices, photographs, payment card records, inspection records, insurance records, or other reasonable documentary proof. A Claim based upon your replacement of your LG Refrigerator after a No-Cooling Event must be supported by proof.

SUMMARY OF RECOVERABLE AMOUNTS

No Additional Proof: You can submit a Claim Form with only a statement under oath without additional proof and you will be eligible for the following cash payments:

• $50 for one or more unsuccessful repairs;
• $100 for out-of-pocket labor costs for repairs;
• $50 for repairs that were delayed by at least 10 days; and
• Up to $250 for property loss (such as food/beverage spoilage or other damages)
• Total Possible Cash Payment Without Proof: Up to $450.00

With Additional Proof: If you submit a Claim Form with additional proof, meaning receipts, invoices, photographs, payment card records, inspection records, insurance records, or other reasonable documentary proof, you will be eligible for a larger cash payment, including the following:

• Parts and Labor. Up to full reimbursement for payments for labor and parts for repairs attributable to No-Cooling Events that occurred within 5 years of purchase.
• Unsuccessful Repairs. Up to $1,000 for unsuccessful repairs by LG or its authorized repair service provider following No-Cooling Events that occurred within 5 years of purchase ($180 for two No-Cooling Events, the amount which shall be reduced to half for a cause not attributable to LG; $500 for three No-Cooling Events; and $1,000 for four or more No-Cooling Events). If you experienced unsuccessful repairs from a non-LG authorized repair service provider, you may also submit a claim, which will be paid if the settlement administrator determines that you acted reasonably in seeking repairs from a non-authorized provider (e.g., due to a lack of availability of an LG or authorized repair service provider within a 50-mile radius or based on a statement that an authorized repair service provider was not reasonably available, subject to cross-check with LG’s records). If your claim does not qualify, it will be treated as a claim under oath and you will receive $50.
• Delayed Repairs. Up to $1,000 for delayed repairs by LG or an LG authorized repair service provider following each No-Cooling Event that occurred within five (5) years after the date of your purchase of the LG Refrigerator, as reflected in LG’s records or as shown by your proof. Payments for delayed repairs will be calculated as follows: if the repairs were delayed by ten days (with the initial call receipt date and service date excluded from the count), you will receive $120. The amount will increase by $20 per day (until but not including the service date) for up to 30 days, and by $25 per day for each day thereafter (until but not including the service date) up to a maximum amount of $1,000. If you experienced delayed repairs from a non-LG authorized repair service provider, you may also submit a claim which will be paid if the settlement administrator determines that you acted reasonably in seeking repairs from a non-authorized provider (e.g., due to a lack of availability of an LG or authorized repair service provider within a 50-mile radius or based on a statement that an authorized repair service provider was not reasonably available, subject to cross-check with LG’s records). If your claim does not qualify, it will be treated as a claim under oath and you will receive $50.
• Property Loss. Up to $3,500 for property loss (including the value of spoiled food/beverages/medicines/perishables, or the value of other property that was damaged from the No-Cooling Event).
• Replacement of LG Refrigerator. $650 if you experienced a failure to service or repair the LG Refrigerator following a No-Cooling Event that occurred within five (5) years after the date of purchase and subsequently disposed of or replaced the LG Refrigerator before September 22, 2020. This payment is in lieu of payment for unsuccessful repairs and/or delayed repairs.

To receive the maximum recovery available to you under the Settlement, you must support your claim with receipts, invoices, photographs, payment card records, inspection records, insurance records, or any other available proof.

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM ONLINE NOW

What If My LG Refrigerator Experiences No-Cooling Events In The Future?

• Under the LG Refrigerator Class Action Settlement, LG is providing Settlement Class Members with an extension of their limited warranty to five (5) years after the date of purchase of the LG Refrigerator at issue, WITH LABOR COSTS TO BE FULLY COVERED AND THE OTHER ENHANCED CUSTOMER CARE BENEFITS DESCRIBED BELOW.
• THROUGH THE EARLIER OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OR SEPTEMBER 22, 2021, LG WILL PROVIDE FREE WARRANTY AND ENHANCED CUSTOMER CARE PROGRAM BENEFITS TO ANY SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER WHO EXPERIENCES A NO-COOLING EVENT, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR WHEN THEIR WARRANTY EXPIRED.
• As a matter of convenience, Settlement Class Members may use, but are not required to use, the Enhanced Warranty Claim Form to request monetary benefits for future No-Cooling Events under the Enhanced Customer Care Program that provides Settlement Class Members with enhanced warranty benefits, including possible payments for future No-Cooling Events.
• In addition, the following measures will be implemented and shall exist for a period of at least three (3) years and will be effective during the extended warranty period for any Settlement Class Member:

1. creating and maintaining a dedicated customer care team to address No-Cooling Events experienced by Settlement Class Members on a timely and expedited basis, with live operator support during regular business hours, sufficient to handle call volume without unreasonable delay. To utilize this live operator support, call or email:

   LG Electronics Alabama
   201 James Record Rd.
   Huntsville, AL 35824
   Telephone: 1-800-243-0000

2. increasing the number of LG-employed repair technicians (which has more than doubled since 2019), and using commercially reasonable best efforts to maintain an adequate service network, expand its nationwide coverage, and ensure that LG meets or exceeds industry standards for responding to requests for warranty service;
3. creating and maintaining a new program designed to provide incentives for faster repair service without sacrificing quality of repair, including a commitment that LG will undertake commercially reasonable best efforts to ensure that a LG-employed repair technician or an Authorized Repair Service Provider, as available, arrives at a Settlement Class Member’s home as quickly as is practicable, within seven (7) days of receiving the Settlement Class Member’s initial request for service, and with all necessary parts on hand;
4. developing a new mobile service application for the use of service technicians, including both LG-employed repair technicians and Authorized Repair Service Providers, to improve accuracy in the diagnosis of problems with LG Refrigerators;
5. investing in efforts to develop and upgrade parts and software to improve the cooling performance of LG Refrigerators;
6. implementing a proactive consumer outreach program to follow up on U.S. consumers’ satisfaction level regarding LG Refrigerators and service performed on them; and
7. enhancing LG Customer Care to provide Settlement Class Members that experience multiple No-Cooling Events during the warranty period as extended by the Settlement Agreement, payments as set forth in the schedule below, subject to LG’s verification that the cause was not the result of a Non-LG Cause. Settlement Class Members who experience multiple No-Cooling Events will be notified by LG for their eligibility for such payments and the amounts of the payments and shall be provided with a form for submitting claims for such payments.

ENHANCED CUSTOMER CARE PROGRAM
PAYMENTS FOR FUTURE NO-COOLING EVENTS

• Pursuant to Paragraph A.1.u of the Settlement Agreement, Settlement Class Members that experience a No-Cooling Event during the warranty period as extended by the Settlement Agreement shall receive payments under the following categories, subject to LG’s verification that the cause was not the result of a Non-LG Cause:

1. Settlement Class Members who experience three (3) or more No-Cooling events shall receive at a minimum $500 up to the purchase price (considering usage period);
2. Settlement Class Members who experience a delay of more than thirty (30) days for a repair by LG or an Authorized Repair Service Provider shall receive at a minimum $400, up to the purchase price (considering usage period); and
3. Property Loss will be reimbursed up to $3,500, upon submission of reasonable proof.
4. Payments to Settlement Class Members under the Enhanced Customer Care Program will be made in cash and sent directly by LG to qualifying Settlement Class Members within a commercially reasonable period, as needed for verification, provided that, in no event shall the payment be made later than 60 days from the receipt of an Enhanced Warranty Claim Form.

• You can submit your claim by email to [email protected] or U.S. Mail to LG Electronics Alabama, 201 James Record Rd., Huntsville, AL 35824.
• Please read the Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement carefully. Your legal rights will be affected, and you have a choice to make now.
• The deadline to submit a claim for a cash payment is January 11, 2021.

• These rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained in the Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement.
• Please note that payments will be made only if the Court grants final approval and the Settlement becomes effective. The Final Approval Hearing is currently scheduled for 2:00 P.M. on December 15, 2020.The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing is subject to modification by the Court so check back here for updates.

Image: Pixabay

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