Products Liability Law Reporter

A federal district court held that the New Jersey Product Liability Act (PLA), N.J. Stat. Ann. §2A:58C-1, does not apply to a putative class action suit alleging that Electrolux Home Products, Inc., and Midea America Corp. were liable for manufacturing, marketing, and selling over-the-range stainless steel microwaves with defective handles.

Thomas Gorczynski brought a putative class action lawsuit alleging that Electrolux Home Products and Midea America Corp. designed, manufactured, and marketed over-the-range microwaves with defective stainless steel handles that became excessively hot—up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit—when the stovetops below were in use, rendering the microwaves unusable. Suit claimed breach of the implied warranty of merchantability and liability under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

The defense moved for dismissal, arguing, among other things, that the PLA subsumed the plaintiff’s consumer fraud and warranty claims.

Denying the motion, the court found that the PLA, while expansive and inclusive, does not apply to situations where a plaintiff is alleging damage to the product itself. Under the statute, a products liability action is defined as any claim for harm caused by a product, which the law further defines as physical damage to property other than the product itself. Here, the court said the plaintiff alleges only that the handle defect diminishes the value and usefulness of the microwave, not physical harm or emotional distress resulting from the defective handle. Citing case law, the court added that the PLA cannot subsume a claim that is explicitly excluded from its coverage.

Consequently, the court concluded that the plaintiffs’ claims may proceed.

Citation: Gorczynski v. Electrolux Home Prods., Inc., 2019 WL 1894915 (D.N.J. Apr. 29, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Simon B. Paris, AAJ member Patrick Howard, and Charles Kochner, all of Philadelphia.