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Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Serta Cheats On Warranties, Class Claims

CHICAGO (CN) - Serta International responded to an increase in warranty claims for sagging mattresses by imposing an "inspection fee" to "investigate" the complaints, and enforcing vague exclusions for mattresses that have "a stain" or are "unsanitary," a class action claims in Federal Court.

Plaintiffs say, "Serta has experienced a dramatic rise in the number of warranty claims during the last 10 years. This increase is likely due to Serta and the industry's general shift towards 'pillow top' mattresses, which are more prone to sagging, sinking and body impressions."

They claim Serta imposed its illegal "inspection fee," which was not mentioned at point of sale, to recoup some of its costs.

They claim that Serta's "use of the complete exclusion for 'stained' or 'unsanitary' mattresses can be applied to every mattress. Under the Defendant's rubric, once a mattress has been used for even one night, it can be considered unsanitary. Indeed, a mattress does not even have to have a stain to be unsanitary, as demonstrated by several recent news reports and exposes have demonstrated that, under a black light, a mattress with no apparent stain can often contain bacteria, mold, spores and a multitude of micro-organisms. Defendant does not disclose the broad applicability of this exception in any manner whatsoever."

One plaintiff claims that "the alleged 'stain'" on his mattress "consisted of red fibers left by his red flannel sheets and did not related to the defect in his bed."

Plaintiffs demand disgorgement and compensatory damages for consumer fraud and breach of contract. They are represented by Edward Wallace with Wexler Toriseva Wallace.

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