I stepped out over the weekend to do a little lawn care, and as I placidly mowed the lawn my thoughts turned to lawsuits. Specifically: the lawnmower lawsuit settlement now pending final approval by the court on June 22.
At least 10 companies, including American Honda Motor Co., Inc., MTD, Sears, Deere & Company; Tecumseh; Briggs & Stratton, Toro, Husqvarna, and others, are defendants agreeing to settle a claim but deny wrongdoing. Five settlements, totaling $65 million in cash, have been reached and are awaiting the Court’s authorization.
The lawsuit contends that manufacturers overstated the muscle in their engines; that their strength is not so much horsepower as it is Shetland pony-pull in gas powered mowers sold between January 1, 1994 through April 12, 2010. If you purchased a mower from these companies, their brands, or have engines manufactured by them, you might want to check out the website to see if you qualify for compensation should the settlement be approved.
Let me be clear: nothing about this lawsuit has anything to do with the safety of these mowers.
Overseeing this dustup is the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, in a case called In re Lawn Mower Engine Horsepower Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 1999, 2:08-md-01999.
I’ve been compensated by a class action settlement before to the tune of $2.19, so the possibility of recovering up to $35 in this case has me near-giddy with excitement. Riding mowers are included, which is bad news for participants in lawnmower racing: if you thought your opponent was juicing their engine, it may be they were simply performing to specs.
Manufacturers have agreed to meet a new Certified Power Rating, testing their equipment in an arena with draft horses on one side, a self-propelled on the other. Trojans are barred from overseeing this contest.
Also, anyone approved as Class Members, with lawn mowers having an engine made and originally warranted by Briggs & Stratton, Kawasaki, Kohler, Toro, or Tecumseh, get a bonus one year warranty on the engine, beginning after the Court’s final approval. This warranty extension, with potential value of over $1 billion, covers repairs original engine warranties covered, according to Heins Mills & Olson, P.L.C., the law firm involved in the litigation, along with Morrison Fenske and Sund, P.A.
So if your mower isn’t dragging you along with the strength of 20 stallions, check out the website for this class action lawsuit – you have until August 31 to submit your claim. For more information, call 877-773-8196; write to Lawn Mowers Settlement, P.O. Box 2309, Faribault, MN 55021-9309; or visit the website at LawnMowerClass.com.
This post previously appeared in the Longmont Ledger.
Gardening after five 
About two weeks back, I received my notice of the class action lawsuite that addressed the Craftsman mower that I purchased a few years back. Yes indeed, my model was one that may not be performing to specifications. My thoughts on the false claims? Oh come on, give me a break! I did not purchase the said mower for it’s power rating, I bought it for the features such as electric start, the self-propelled wheels, and the width of the deck. All because, I do not intend to use this mower, I have teenagers, whom will never really know the difference between the power of the said engine. They just know that if they don’t do it to their mother’s satisfaction, they will have to do it again. Of course, I think they should use a self-propelled reel mower. That model will never be recalled due to a discrepency in horsepower. Yet, my boys would be all the stronger and have superior shoulder strength aiding their skills at mastering their latest video game.
A quick comment about your lawn mower horsepower article – the problem with class action lawsuits is that almost exclusively, only one group of people wins in these cases – the lawyers. They get such a huge % of the $ in a suit like this that noone else benefits. The intent of a class action suit is to bring reward to those who may have been damaged by the unethical or intentional actions of someone or a company but the way our system is set up with the lawyers receiving 60, 70, even 90%, the original purpose was lost, I believe (actually, the original purpose may never have existed – it was probably set up by lawyers in the first place)!
Just my two cents worth. This is why I NEVER participate in class action lawsuits!
That was my reaction too, Steve, when digging into this: how the heck could I tell if my mower has all the horsepower claimed by the manufacturers? It does its job.
Hi Curtis – you pose a thought provoking concept on the intent of class action suits. I wonder: do they also serve to rein in questionable business practices? This case, for example, is being litigated as a consumer fraud complaint; it alleges that the companies overstated their product’s performance, despite knowing the truth. For 16 years. Aside from the money (which oftens ends up being a laughable payout), do these types of suits bring about more ethical business practices? I don’t know – I’m honestly curious.