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Suit Charges Martha Stewart Knew of Defective Glass in Patio Tabletops

August 10, 2005
A class action lawsuit charges Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and KMart with selling defective glass-top patio tables that are prone to shatter without warning.

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The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in East St. Louis on behalf of Michelle Ronat, who bought one of the tables for use in her Bond County, Illinois, home from a local KMart store. It charges that Martha Stewart Living and KMart violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and breached the implied warranty that is part of every retail transaction.

The suit alleges that substandard parts were used in the construction of the tables as well as "materials that are inappropriate for the use for which they are intended" and that the tables have "inherent design and manufacturing defects" that caused the glass tops to shattered unexpectedly during ordinary use.

Consumers have been filing similar complaints with ConsumerAffairs.com since 2002. The tables were sold exclusively by KMart.

"I purchased a complete Martha Stewart Patio set in May of 2003. I housed it indoors in the winter months, and took very good care of it," Bridgette of Lewes, Delaware, said. "Just the other day, for no apparent reason, my glass top table shattered into a million pieces! I thought something fell out of the sky and hit it, but it did not. I am so disappointed!"

In the suit, Ronat said that she also purchased her table for more than $300 in May of 2003 and used it for about two years on her home's deck.

On July 7, 2005, Ronat was sitting in her living room with her two young children when she heard a loud crash from her deck. She looked out and saw that "glass from the Martha Stewart patio table had shattered into thousands of small pieces," the suit charged.

"Smaller pieces of glass were quickly shattering into even smaller pieces, making the shattering glass pop like popcorn," the suit alleged.

Ronat contacted KMart and was told that the glass was not covered under the 90-day warranty. The manufacturer, JRA Furniture Industries, offered her a replacement but Ronat "was not interested in receiving another glass top patio table that was apt to shatter" and asked for a refund. JRA refused.

The suit charges that Martha Stewart Living and KMart knew that the tables had the tendency to shatter during ordinary use and that the company had received complaints from consumers who had purchased the defective tables and that it committed fraud by continuing to sell the tables.

The suit seeks actual and punitive damages on behalf of all consumers who purchased the tables. Attorney Richard Doherty of Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates is representing the plaintiffs.

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