The insurer said a June 2013 fire started in what was believed to be a Frigidaire dehumidifier bought from Home Depot by Milford, Connecticut resident Kourosh Azarbarzin, causing substantial property damage, which was covered by Allstate under a homeowner’s insurance policy.
Electrolux manufactures Frigidaire-brand dehumidifiers and Home Depot sells them, according to each company’s website, but a spokeswoman for Whirlpool said that to her knowledge, the company did not have any relationship with Frigidaire-brand appliances.
In the complaint, Allstate said it’s entitled to reimbursement from the manufacturer and seller because the dehumidifier contained one or more defects that either Electrolux or Whirlpool failed to correct before it hit the market, and Home Depot then sold to a customer.
The suit alleges the dehumidifier was being used properly and not modified in any way. The complaint did not disclose how much Allstate paid Azarbarzin in damages, but indicated that it was more than $75,000.
Attorneys representing Allstate and Azarbarzin did not respond to request for comment Thursday.
The insurer said Electrolux or Whirlpool could have also produced the dehumidifier that Home Depot then sold with insufficient warning labels regarding the risk of fire, or distributed it without proper instructions for use, and failure to take care of those issues also constitutes liability.
“The damages sustained by the plaintiffs insured are the direct and proximate result ofthe negligence producing conduct of Electrolux, Whirlpool and/or Home Depot and/or the subject dehumidifier trademarked, manufactured, distributed, marketed, sold and/or assembled by said defendants,” the complaint read.
Electrolux has faced insurance lawsuit claims over its products before. The company was cleared in a 2013 lawsuit claiming it was responsible for damages after a dryer it manufactured caught fire in New Jersey.
In 2014, Electrolux settled a class action claiming defective dryers manufactured by the company were responsible for starting a number of home fires.
In May, Sears Holdings Corp. filed a motion for summary judgement in Illinois federal court claiming it should not be held liable in another dryer fire suit leveled at Electrolux in 2013, though plaintiffs in that case allege Sears did a number of repairs to their dryer since the time they purchased it in 2003.
A spokeswoman for Electrolux said the company had not yet seen Wednesday’s filed complaint and couldn’t comment at this time. A representative for Home Depot did not return a request for comment.
Allstate Insurance is represented by Mark D. O’Hara of Blackburn & O’Hara LLC.
Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.
The case is Allstate Insurance Co. v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc; Whirlpool Corp.; Home Depot USA, Inc., case number 3:15-cv-01041, in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.