Lawsuit Charges Mr. Coffee Knew of Problems

Mr. Coffee • They leak • They explode • They smell • Everything else • A Solution? --- News • Lawsuit Charges Mr. Coffee Knew of Problems • Mr. Coffee Named in Scalding Lawsuit

April 27, 2004
A consumer lawsuit accuses Sunbeam Products of knowingly selling defective Mr. Coffee coffee makers to millions of consumers. Plaintiff Susan Wallis of DeKalb County, Ill., charges that each of three Mr. Coffee machines leaked hot water, coffee and grounds on her kitchen counter.

The suit, which seeks class action status, alleges that problems with the coffee makers became increasingly evident after Sunbeam closed the longtime Mr. Coffee plant in Cleveland and moved production to Matamoros, Mexico, leaving 390 Ohio workers without jobs.

Mr. Coffee introduced its first coffeemaker in 1972 and has held the #1 market position ever since. The company was acquired by Sunbeam in 1998.

In her lawsuit, Wallis charges that Mr. Coffee machines have inherent design and manufacturing defects.

For example, the suit says the removable reservoir on the coffee makers habitually leak water from the bottom of the machine, leaving water standing on the counter-top.

Likewise, the "Brewing Pause 'n Serve" feature, which supposedly allows a cup of coffee to be poured during brewing, prevents water from properly draining through the filter basket. As a result, water and coffee grounds can overflow from the basket, greatly increasing the risk that hot fluids will spill out.

In the suit, Ms. Wallis alleges that she bought her first Mr. Coffee coffee maker from a Wal-Mart in August 2003. The second time she used it, hot coffee and coffee grounds began overflowing from the top of the filter basket.

She sent Mr. Coffee an e-mail and received a response offering her a replacement unit. She accepted and, about a week later, the new unit arrived and a short time later, the same problem occurred with the replacement unit. A babysitter unplugged the leaking coffee maker and began cleaning up the spilled hot coffee and grounds.

Without being touched by the babysitter, the filter basket, which was overflowing with hot coffee, broke away from the coffee maker, expelling hot coffee and making the unit useless.

Ms. Wallis complained again and, again, was given a replacement unit. Almost immediately after she received the third unit, it exhibited the same problem. Ms. Wallis said she has since stopped using Mr. Coffee machines.

The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Coffee has continued to sell the coffee makers and representing them as safe and reliable while at the same time conducting a "secret warranty" campaign that offers replacement units and, sometimes, money for damages to some consumers but not others.

Ms. Wallis' suit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of Illinois consumers. Similar suits are pending in other states. It seeks appropriate compensatory and punative damages.

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