Santa Clara, CA: A $9.3 million settlement has received final approval, ending defective products multi-district litigation (MDL) against Rust-Oleum Corp. The litigation included 13 lawsuits that alleged the do-it-yourself home improvement company knowingly advertised and marketed its Restore products as long-lasting and rejuvenating for wooden and concrete deck surfaces when all the time it knew the products often peeled off, necessitating repair work to decks and other surfaces.
According to the terms of the settlement, several tiers of compensation will be put in place and customers will be eligible to apply for several tiers depending on the product they purchased, the work involved in applying the said product and the damage to the property.
The MDL included 45 named plaintiffs from states all over the country, each of whom will be awarded $2,000 as part of the settlement order.
The class includes customers who bought Deck & Concrete Restore and Restore 10X products between 2008 and October 2016. The suit claimed they were convinced to buy the products by marketing that claimed it would repair their deteriorating deck surfaces.
The plaintiffs asserted that Rust-Oleum claimed to have done extensive field testing of its products and therefore, it should have been aware of the defects with the products. Further, the suit took issue with claims made by Rust-Oleum in its warranties that while they would provide a replacement product or a refund in case of product failure, customers were barred from suing the company for property damage resulting from use of the products.
The MDL is In re: Rust-Oleum Restore Marketing Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, case number 1:15-cv-01364, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
