Santa Clara, CAGree Electric Appliances of China and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have re-issued a massive recall of allegedly defective dehumidifiers following reports of 450 Fires and $19 million in property damage. According to the CPSC’s website, the brand names included in the recall are Frigidaire, Soleus Air, Kenmore, among others.
About 2.5 million units are being recalled in the US, with a further 55,000 in Canada. Initially announced in September 2013, the recall was updated in October 2013 and expanded in January 2014.
The dehumidifier recalls were issued due to concerns about the units overheating and potentially catching fire. Attorneys are now investigating possible lawsuits against the company alleging property damage on behalf of consumers whose homes were damaged by an overheated dehumidifier and possible lawsuits alleging lack of notification about the recall.
This latest recall involves 20, 25, 30, 40, 45, 50, 65 and 70-pint dehumidifiers with brand names Danby, De’Longhi, Fedders, Fellini, Frigidaire, GE, Gree, Kenmore, Norpole, Premiere, Seabreeze, SoleusAir and SuperClima. A complete list of model numbers and contact information is available at the CPSC website.
The dehumidifiers are white, beige, gray or black plastic and measure between 19 and 24 inches tall, 13 and 15 inches wide, and 9 and 11 inches deep. They were sold at AAFES, HH Gregg, Home Depot, Kmart, Lowe’s, Menards, Mills Fleet Farm, Sam’s Club, Sears, Walmart and other stores nationwide and in Canada, and online at Amazon.com and Ebay.com, from January 2005 through August 2013 for between $110 and $400.
There are concerns Gree had been warned about the risk of the dehumidifier overheating and catching fire, but failed to warn consumers about the risk. According to court documents, Soleus International, one of the companies that sold "SoleusAir Powered By Gree" dehumidifiers, filed a lawsuit against Gree in June 2013, alleging Gree retaliated against Soleus when Soleus reported defects in the dehumidifier to US regulators. According to the lawsuit, Gree denied there were problems with the dehumidifiers and pressured Soleus to hide customer complaints about the devices.
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