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Friday, March 29, 2024

Titeflex, others sued over allegedly defective piping

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) – Several U.S. citizens are suing manufacturers of certain stainless steel tubing over claims the product is inherently defective.

Bonnie George, Ed McKinzie, Tim Worstel, Cedar Deraps, Casey Wasser and Tammy Volkart, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a class-action lawsuit Feb. 11 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri against PowerCET Corp., Gas Technology Institute, Omega Flex, Ward Manufacturing and Titeflex Corp., alleging violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, conspiracy and unjust enrichment.

The suit states that for years Titeflex, Ward and Omega have been selling a flexible gas piping system known as corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST), which is encased in an insulating outer yellow jacket.

The defendants allegedly have acknowledged that the yellow-jacketed CSST products are prone to catastrophic failure when exposed to electrical energy, including direct and indirect lightning strikes and even moderate voltage caused by electric charge arcing from regular household appliances.  The CSST failure allegedly leads to a risk of gas leaks and fires.

Following a class-action settlement in 2007, all the defendants have allegedly misrepresented to the public that the dangers of the yellow-jacketed CSST products can be eliminated through the use of additional "bonding and grounding" techniques.

The suit states these claims are false and misleading and do not actually constitute a solution to the CSST products' inherent problems.

As a result, homeowners across the U.S. have allegedly spent thousands of dollars on additional bonding and grounding techniques, but will have to spend thousands more to actually remedy the problem by replacing the defective yellow CSST.

The plaintiffs and others in the class seek disgorgement and restitution, treble damages, declaratory and injunctive relief, corrective advertising, interests, attorney fees and other costs of the suit. They are represented by attorneys David Steelman and Stephen F. Gaunt of Steelman Gaunt & Horsefield in Rolla, Missouri, and by attorney Scott A. Kamber of Kamber Law in New York.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri Case number 2:16-CV-04056-MDH

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