Kohler Fends Off Homeowners’ Defective Plumbing Class Action

Kohler Inc. convinced a California appeals court Nov. 14 that a suit over allegedly defective plumbing fixtures can’t be brought as a class action.

California’s Right to Repair Act bars homeowner class actions over construction defects with one narrow exception, Judge Thomas L. Willhite Jr. wrote for the California Court of Appeal, Second District.

That exception is for claims against the part manufacturer involving defective components made onsite and incorporated into a home, the court ruled. The court found it doesn’t apply in this case.

Kohler sold about 630,000 of the valves and mixer caps in California during the relevant ...