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PRESS
RELEASE |
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Federal Court Approves Nationwide
Furnace Settlement
With Carrier
Corporation Involving High-Efficiency
Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night
and Payne Furnaces |
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| Seattle, Washington – April 22, 2008 --
Class counsel announced that United States District Court Judge Ronald B.
Leighton today granted final approval to a nationwide settlement in a class
action lawsuit filed by current and past owners of high-efficiency furnaces
manufactured and sold by Carrier Corporation starting in 1989 and equipped
with polypropylene-laminated condensing heat exchangers ("CHXs"). |
| "After several years of hard-fought litigation in four
different U.S. courts, we are pleased that the Court approved the settlement," stated
plaintiffs’ counsel Jonathan D. Selbin of the New York office of Lieff
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. "It is an outstanding outcome
for consumers, and we commend Carrier for stepping forward and taking care
of its customers." |
| "The settlement provides an enhanced 20-year warranty
for consumers whose furnaces have not yet failed that will cover parts and
labor for CHX failures," stated Kim D. Stephens, counsel for plaintiffs
with the Seattle law firm of Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC. "The settlement
also offers a cash payment for consumers who paid to repair or replace the
CHX in their high-efficiency Carrier furnaces." |
| The deadline for class members to submit a claim is August
1, 2008. Claim forms are available online at www.furnaceclaims.com. |
| Approximately three million U.S. consumers purchased the
furnaces covered under the settlement. Carrier sold the furnaces under the
Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night and Payne brand-names. A list of the models
covered under the settlement can also be found at www.furnaceclaims.com. |
| The complaint, originally filed in June 2005, charged that
starting in 1989, Carrier began manufacturing and selling high efficiency
condensing furnaces manufactured with a secondary CHX made of inferior materials.
Plaintiffs alleged that as a result, the CHXs, which Carrier warranted and
consumers expected to last for 20 years, failed prematurely. Carrier denied
the allegations and vigorously contested the litigation. |
| Under the settlement, the class consists of all individuals
and entities in the United States who currently own a Carrier 90% high efficiency
condensing furnace manufactured between January 1, 1989 and April 22, 2008,
and equipped with a polypropylene-laminated secondary heat exchanger, and
former owners of such furnaces whose furnaces experienced CHX failure. |
Jonathan D. Selbin
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP
780 Third Avenue, 48th Floor
New York, New York 10017
(212) 355-9500
jselbin@lchb.com
Kim D. Stephens
Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC
1700 Seventh
Avenue, Suite 2200
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 682-5600
kstephens@tousley.com |
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LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP |
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| Notice: Lieff
Cabraser attorneys provide legal advice and practice law for clients in
federal district courts throughout the United States and in state courts
where we are licensed to practice. In states in which our lawyers are not
licensed to practice, we have affiliations with local attorneys who serve
as co-counsel with our firm. Please read our disclaimer. |
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Copyright © 2008 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP |
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