NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) – A number of homeowners alleged in a recent class-action suit that defective plumbing products damaged their homes.
Chad Meadows, John and Susan Plisko, and Kenneth Mclaughlin, individually and on behalf of those similarly situated, filed a lawsuit on Oct. 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division against NIBCO, Inc., alleging negligence, breach of expressed and implied warranty, and violations of the Tennessee Product Liability Act, South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Alabama Extended Manufacturers Liability Doctrine.
The plaintiffs allege that NIBCO’s line of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) plumbing tubes, fittings that connect the PEX tubing, and crimps and clamps that join the PEX tubing and PEX fittings caused water leaks that damaged their homes.
NIBCO allegedly promises that its PEX tubing will be free from any defects in materials and workmanship for 10 to 25 years, dependent upon whether the entire plumbing system was composed solely of NIBCO products or with other manufacturers’ PEX products. The plaintiffs, however, said they experienced leakage in their homes due to the alleged degradation of NIBCO’s products. The leakage allegedly caused extensive damages to their properties, including walls, ceilings, bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms.
The defendants are suing for damages, pre- and post-judgment interest at the maximum rate allowable by law, attorney costs, an award for equitable and injunctive relief prohibiting NIBCO from continuing its current practices, and any other rewards deemed just by the court.
The defendants are represented by Gregory F. Coleman of Greg Coleman Law, P.C. in Knoxville, Tennessee; Shanon J. Carson, Lawrence Deutsch and Jacob M. Polakoff of Berger & Montague, P.C. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Michael McShane and Jonas P. Mann of Audet & Partners, LLP in San Francisco, California; Michael Flannery and Charles J. DeLuca of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP in St. Louis, Missouri and Washington DC; and Robert K. Shelqusit of Lockridge Grindal Nauen, PLLP in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division Case number 3:15-cv-01124