Class Counsel Announces Wisconsin And Ontario Homeowners File Class Action Lawsuits Alleging Carrier Corporation Concealed Significant Defects In Carrier And Bryant Condensing Furnaces

Madison, Wisconsin and Toronto, Ontario - October 10, 2006

Class counsel announced that homeowners in Wisconsin and Ontario filed today separate class action lawsuits against Carrier Corporation, the manufacturer of Carrier and Bryant condensing furnaces (also marketed under the brand names "Day & Night" and "Payne"). The homeowners allege that beginning in the mid-1980s, Carrier started manufacturing its high-end furnaces out of inferior material that corrodes and prematurely fails, without disclosing that fact to consumers.

"In Canada, homeowners run their furnaces for at least five months of the year," stated Joel Rochon, counsel for plaintiffs in the action filed in Toronto, Ontario. "It is of great concern that Carrier would sell a furnace that could potentially malfunction in the dead of winter."

"The technician who examined my furnace could not believe the extent to which the heat exchangers were corroded," commented Robert Andress of Brockville, Ontario, one of the plaintiffs in the Ontario lawsuit.

"Carrier's warranty does not cover labor charges for replacement of the failed part" stated Lester A. Pines, counsel in the Wisconsin class action. "Often homeowners are faced with spending more than a thousand dollars to repair their furnace, or must buy a brand new furnace."

Today's lawsuits mark the second and third class action lawsuits filed against Carrier Corporation for failing to disclose defects in its furnaces. In 2005, homeowners in the State of Washington filed the first class action lawsuit.

All three complaints allege that in the mid-1980s Carrier stopped using stainless steel secondary heat exchangers in favor of cheaper polypropylene-laminated mild steel. Carrier switched to the cheaper product despite the fact that the industry standard was (and still is) to use stainless steel parts to prevent corrosion. Plaintiffs allege that the polypropylene separates from the steel and degrades due to the high temperatures in the furnace, exposing the underlying mild steel to acidic condensate. In some cases the corrosion proceeds to the point of actually perforating the outside wall of the heat exchanger.

In the United States, Carrier warrants the heat exchanger for the lifetime of the original purchaser and for 20 years for subsequent purchasers. In Canada, Carrier warrants the heat exchanger for 20 years. Despite these warranties, plaintiffs allege that the average life of Carrier's condensing furnaces is only nine years and may be as few as two years.

The class action filed in Toronto, Ontario is brought on behalf of all Canadians with the allegedly defective Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night, or Payne furnaces. The class action filed in Madison, Wisconsin brought on behalf of the estimated 200,000 Wisconsin residents that own Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night, or Payne furnaces.

Homeowners can learn more about this action and report their experiences with Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night, or Payne condensing furnaces to class counsel by visiting http://www.lieffcabraser.com/furnace.htm

Representing plaintiffs in the Wisconsin action are attorneys Lester A. Pines and Kira E. Loehr of Cullen Weston Pines & Bach LLP, and the law firms of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC, and Edward & Hagen PS. In the Ontario action, Rochon Genova LLP serve as solicitors for plaintiffs.

For more information, please contact Tousley Brain Stephens attorneys Kim Stephens or Nancy Pacharzina.