Sears, the nation’s largest appliance retailer, has proposed a settlement in a class action lawsuit for people that purchased a freestanding or slide-in range from Sears between July 2, 2000, and September 18, 2007.
During the class-period, Sears representatives failed to secure the ranges with a bracket to keep the stoves from tipping over, which can happen when weight is applied to an open oven door. Brackets have been included with ranges since 1991 that comply with the Underwriters Laboratories' safety standard for ranges. However, an internal memo from Sears said that the safety brackets were installed in only an estimated five percent of the ranges sold.
Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, says since 1980, at least 33 people have been killed and 84 injured in accidents involving unsecured stoves sold by retailers. These stoves can crush, scald or burn children who tug on them or people who place heavy objects on open oven doors.
If the Proposed Settlement is approved, Sears will offer free installation of anti-tip devices to eligible Class Members who do not have a device installed or, alternatively, the Class Member may choose a $50 nontransferable gift card good towards the purchase of a new Sears range. Sears will also offer reimbursement to those Class Members who, after Sears delivered their range, paid for installation of an anti-tip device.
The corrective action could cost Sears $546 million and cover nearly 4 million households.
The settlement does not include people with potential claims against Sears for personal injury, wrongful death or property damage caused by stoves that have tipped over.
Also not included in the settlement are people who bought similar stoves from other companies. Public Citizen has announced it will petition the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to extend the recall to millions of other stoves installed by other retailers and ask for a stronger safety standard to prevent tip-overs as well as a public alert.
For more information on the settlement, consumers can consult the settlement Web site.
