Fridgewrap Rides Again!

Back in 2021, we reported on LG’s charming habit of putting notice of mandatory arbitration inside its refrigerators. 

As you can see, the arbitration provision requires individual arbitration, meaning that each consumer dissatisfied with the product has to go one-on-one against a huge corporation.  And the corporation is not playing nice, as described in this piece by Chris Chmura, Stephanie Lucero, Alyssa Goard and Camille Lopez Rodriguez, reporting for NBC in the Bay Area.

It now appears that over 100 LG buyers are trying to bring a class action against LG for its faulty products. They allege that LG has sent out people to repair the refrigerators, but nothing works, as there is a faulty part that cannot be repaired.  Members of the purported class are done trying to get LG to repair the appliances.  They seek refunds and rescission.  They allege that LG is trying to use arbitration to avoid creating a public record of discovery, as they believe that such discovery will reveal that LG has long been aware of the problems with the faulty part and has tried to conceal that knowledge. 

LG claims that it provides notice to consumers of its arbitration provision in three ways.  First, the notice of arbitration is in the box in which the refrigerator is delivered.  Second, it is in the owners’ manual, and third, fridgewrap. 

The problem with the notice in the box is that workers unbox the refrigerators before moving the appliances into homes.  Buyers never see the notice unless delivery people think it is their job to share that information with the end-user.  According to the NBC report, they don’t do so.  Anna Han of the Santa Clara University School of Law suggests that the notice in the manual and in the refrigerator may provide adequate notice to consumers and thus that LG may not be able to establish that purchasers of LG products consented to arbitration.  Stay tuned.

Hat tip to my former student, Todd Williams!