Opinion ID: 223511
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Pappas Suit

Text: The first class action, Pappas v. Pella Corporation and Pella Windows & Doors, No. 02-L-14558 ( Pappas Suit), was filed in 2002 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. The initial complaint alleged that Pella defectively designed and manufactured windows that the Pappas family purchased and that the defect caused damage to their windows and their home. The complaint alleged a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, a breach of the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, and strict liability. The Pappas plaintiffs subsequently filed an Amended Class Action Complaint, seeking class certification and alleging counts of negligence and strict liability. The Pappas plaintiffs amended their complaint three more times in the next several years. In 2004, Pella entered into a confidential agreement with Liberty Mutual and its pre-2001 insurance carriers ( Pappas Agreement), in which each insurance carrier agreed to pay a share of Pella's past and future defense costs for the Pappas suit, subject to a complete reservation of rights. Subsequently, in 2007, the plaintiffs filed their most recent complaint, the Fourth Amended Class Action Complaint. This complaint continued to allege that Pella's windows were defectively designed and manufactured, allowing water to enter and remain behind the windows' aluminum cladding, resulting in premature wood rot and deterioration that caus[ed] damage. The complaint alleged that Pella knew about the defective windows but willfully, with knowledge and/or intent to deceive, concealed, suppressed, or omitted this material fact from purchasers of its windows. As a result, the complaint alleged only one count: a violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, 815 Illinois Compiled Statutes 505/1 et seq. In its prayer for relief, the plaintiffs requested, among other things, damages sufficient to remediate and repair damage to Plaintiffs' and class members' homes which resulted from water intrusion.