Goldberg Segalla gained the dismissal with prejudice of a putative class action lawsuit brought against a product manufacturer in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Cheryl A. Possenti, and John P. Freedenberg handled the case.

The plaintiff brought vague allegations, without providing specific details, that portable electric products manufactured by our client following two previously conducted voluntary recalls still contained the alleged design defect that led to the recalls. She brought nonspecific claims under state consumer-fraud statutes as well as for breach of express warranty, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, and unjust enrichment. The plaintiff’s complaint alleged damages in excess of $5 million in order to obtain federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act; in all, the potential damages alleged could have totaled over $200 million for the replacement cost of more than 10 million products.

We successfully demonstrated to the federal judge that the plaintiff’s allegations were without merit and, particularly, her nonspecific allegations of design defect and other claims were insufficient to bring such claims under consumer-fraud statutes. On April 10, 2012, the court granted our team’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s claims on all counts, and subsequently the court dismissed the case with prejudice, ending the matter for our client.