— A Harbor Freight jack stand lawsuit alleges 1.7 million stands in the U.S. were sold with defects that made the jack stands too dangerous to use.
The jack stand class action lawsuit includes all consumers nationwide who purchased Harbor Freight jack stands with item numbers 56371, 61196 or 61197.
The lawsuit follows a Pittsburgh Automotive jack stand recall of 3-ton and 6-ton heavy duty steel jack stands sold by Harbor Freight.
However, consumers who suffered property damage or injuries caused by the jack stands are not included in the class action lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, every jack stand has manufacturing defects which cause the ratchet teeth on the jack stand lifting extension post to inconsistently engage the pawl deep enough. In addition, the 3-ton jack stands allegedly have inconsistent location indexing of the pawl armature holes.
Georgia plaintiff Markeith Mitchell purchased the Pittsburgh Automotive 6-ton jack stands (part number 61197) and used them a few times but allegedly experienced slip on the ratcheting mechanism while lifting his truck.
Mr. Mitchell says he had safety mechanisms in place to catch the truck before it slammed to the ground.
The plaintiff says he stopped using the jack stands because he felt they were dangerous.
According to the lawsuit, Mitchell tried to return the jack stands to the Harbor Freight store but a customer representative told him the jack stands were no longer under warranty and couldn't be returned.
The plaintiff alleges he received no value from the stands and he tossed them out because they were too dangerous to use.
The lawsuit says the jack stands are unsafe due to manufacturing problems caused by aging in the tooling. The last thing a consumer needs from a jack stand is for it to collapse while under load, but the class action alleges that is exactly what makes the Harbor Freight stands so dangerous.
The lawsuit says sales of the jack stands were negligent because the stands were "unmerchantable" and unfit for their intended purposes. The jack stands were also allegedly unreasonably dangerous and caused damage to all buyers because the "jack stands were worthless in the condition they were purchased."
The Harbor Freight jack stand lawsuit brings claims for breach of warranty, negligence and products liability.
The Harbor Freight jack stand lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Macon Division: Mitchell, et al., v. Harbor Freight Tools USA, Inc.
The plaintiff is represented by Steven N. Newton, LLC, and Davis & Norris, LLP.
