DETROIT – A Florida couple is suing Whirlpool Corp. and EcoWater Systems LLC, alleging a faulty water filtration system caused flooding in their home.
According to the May 21 filing, plaintiffs James and Debra Parsons filed a class action lawsuit after they alleged that their Destin, Florida home was damaged in a flood caused by a filtration system manufactured by EcoWater Systems, which sells them under a license with Whirlpool. The case is made up of two classes of plaintiffs who all purchased “similarly defective” systems. The current venue of the lawsuit is U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, which includes Benton Harbor, the location of Whirlpool’s main headquarters.
Whirlpool and EcoWater moved to dismiss the action, citing lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue and requested that the court transfer the case to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, according to court documents.
The court noted that since the plaintiffs say the location they purchased the water filtration system, as well as their home that was flooded, are both located in Destin. “The Northern District of Florida is not only a district in which an injury or loss alleged in the lawsuit occurred — it is where the only injury or loss alleged in the lawsuit occurred, as well as the district in which plaintiffs purchased the product that they allege was the cause of that injury or loss.”
According to the filing, “the court finds that venue for this action is not properly laid in the Eastern District of Michigan, and that the interest of justice requires the case to be transferred to the Northern District of Florida."