Kroger Refrigerant Lawsuit: $76.7M Verdict and EPA Consent Decree

The Kroger refrigerant lawsuits are two separate legal actions tied to the company’s handling of R-22 coolant at its grocery stores: a proposed federal settlement announced in April 2026 requiring a $2.5 million civil penalty and roughly $100 million in refrigeration upgrades at 600 stores to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations from 2014 through 2023, and a June 2025 Michigan jury verdict of $76.7 million to an HVAC technician who lost most of his fingers when a refrigerant line ruptured at a Bloomfield Township store.¹²

The Federal Clean Air Act Case

On April 29, 2026, the Justice Department filed a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, captioned United States v. The Kroger Co., Civil Action No. 26-cv-00421.³ The government alleged that between 2014 and 2023, Kroger violated Section 608 of the Clean Air Act by failing to promptly repair R-22 leaks at its stores and failing to keep adequate service records.¹

R-22, also called HCFC-22, is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon that damages the ozone layer. Its production and import were banned as of January 1, 2020, under a phaseout tied to the Montreal Protocol. Existing supplies of reclaimed R-22 can still legally service older equipment, so the presence of R-22 in Kroger’s stores was not itself the violation. The problem was maintenance.⁴

Federal rules require operators of commercial refrigeration systems containing 50 or more pounds of ozone-depleting refrigerant to repair leaks within 30 days once the system’s annual leak rate exceeds 20 percent. Operators must also maintain detailed service records, conduct verification tests after repairs, and report chronically leaking appliances to the EPA.⁵⁶ The government’s complaint said Kroger fell short on both fronts for close to a decade.

What the Settlement Requires

The proposed consent decree has two financial pieces. Kroger must pay a $2.5 million civil penalty, and the company is required to spend an estimated $100 million over three years on equipment and compliance upgrades.¹ The obligations include:

Retrofitting or replacing 600 refrigeration systems that use ozone-depleting substances, converting them to EPA-approved refrigerants with a global warming potential below 1,400 or to exempt alternatives such as CO2 (R-744), by December 31, 2028.⁷
Implementing a refrigerant management system with technology and protocols to detect and repair leaks across Kroger’s store network.¹
Holding the corporate-wide average annual refrigerant leak rate at or below 9.5 percent, well under the 20 percent regulatory trigger for mandatory repairs.⁸

Full compliance would release Kroger from past civil liability for Clean Air Act violations related to its refrigerant appliances.⁹

Where the Settlement Stands

The proposed decree was published in the Federal Register on May 6, 2026, opening a 30-day public comment period that closed June 5, 2026.³ As of mid-2026, the settlement has not received final court approval. The DOJ will review comments before asking the court to enter the decree.¹⁰

The $76.7 Million Michigan Injury Verdict

On February 1, 2022, Brian Mierendorf, a 37-year-old HVAC technician and pipefitter, was doing routine maintenance on refrigeration lines at a Kroger store at 3600 West Maple Road in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. A line began spraying liquid R-22 under high pressure. The store had no shutoff valve within a reasonable distance of the work area. Mierendorf tried to cap the line to protect nearby customers. His left hand froze to the pipe. He struggled to break free while inhaling the chemical before pulling away.¹¹

The high-pressure spray caused what doctors call injection injuries, where a toxic substance is forced deep into the skin. Mierendorf suffered severe chemical burns, the amputation or partial amputation of most of the fingers on both hands, and permanent disfigurement and disability. He has undergone more than 25 surgeries.¹²

The Claims Against Kroger

Mierendorf and his wife, Heather, filed a premises liability suit against The Kroger Co. of Michigan in Oakland County Circuit Court on February 26, 2024, case number 2024-205824-NO, before Judge Jacob James Cunningham.¹³ The complaint accused Kroger of:

Failing to warn Mierendorf of a dangerous condition on the premises.
Failing to inspect the refrigeration lines before requesting maintenance work.
Failing to install shutoff valves within a reasonable distance of the work area.
Failing to properly train and supervise employees on refrigeration maintenance.
Failing to produce maintenance, repair, or inspection records for the system.¹¹

Kroger’s defense at trial centered on blaming Mierendorf for his own injuries, arguing he should not have tried to cap the leaking line. Plaintiff’s counsel from Marko Law countered by emphasizing Kroger’s inability to produce required maintenance records and the absence of a nearby shutoff valve. Kroger provided only a partial incident report, delivered more than two years after the event, according to the plaintiff’s team.¹²

The Award and Appeal

On June 17, 2025, the Oakland County jury returned a verdict totaling $76.7 million. Brian Mierendorf was awarded more than $63 million for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Heather Mierendorf received over $13 million for loss of consortium and companionship.² Plaintiff’s attorney Jon Marko called it the largest premises liability verdict in Michigan history.¹¹

“Kroger had a ticking time bomb in its store at Bloomfield Township, waiting to blow,” Marko said after the verdict. “Brian literally gave up his hands in the line of duty.”¹²

Kroger had appealed the trial court’s pre-verdict denial of its motion for summary disposition to the Michigan Court of Appeals under case number COA #375901, filed June 4, 2025.¹⁴ Court records show that appeal was concluded and the file archived. Kroger has not issued a public statement about the verdict or indicated whether it will pursue a further appeal of the damages award.

What Links the Two Cases

The federal enforcement action and the Michigan verdict are legally independent, but both turn on how Kroger handled R-22 systems. The DOJ alleged that Kroger failed to fix leaks and keep records at stores nationwide from 2014 through 2023. The Bloomfield Township incident happened in February 2022, squarely inside that window. At trial in Michigan, plaintiff’s counsel told the jury that Kroger could not produce maintenance or inspection records for the refrigeration system that injured Mierendorf, an allegation that mirrors the recordkeeping failures at the center of the federal case.¹¹

How the Federal Penalty Compares to Other Grocery Chains

The $100 million compliance cost in the Kroger decree is far above what other supermarket chains have paid in comparable Clean Air Act cases. Prior EPA enforcement actions under Title VI include:

Safeway (2013): 659 stores, $600,000 civil penalty, about $4.1 million in compliance costs.¹⁵
Costco (2014): 274 stores, $335,000 civil penalty, roughly $2 million in improvements.
Trader Joe’s (2016): 453 stores, $500,000 civil penalty, about $2 million in upgrades.
Southeastern Grocers (2020): 576 stores, $300,000 civil penalty, roughly $4.2 million in compliance spending.
Gristedes (2024): a smaller New York chain, $400,000 civil penalty and $13.5 million in repairs after admitting to corporate-wide leak rates reaching 59 percent in one year.¹⁶

Kroger’s $2.5 million fine is higher than any of these earlier penalties, and the $100 million compliance obligation is roughly 25 times the size of the next largest grocery chain settlement. The scale reflects both Kroger’s footprint and the length of the alleged violation period.

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Kroger Agrees to Settlement Reducing Ozone-Harming Emissions From Grocery Stores Nationwide
2
USA Today. Michigan Jury Awards Man Who Loses Fingers at Kroger
3
Federal Register. Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act
4
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Technicians and Contractors Frequent Questions
5
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Stationary Refrigeration Leak Repair Requirements
6
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Section 608 Fact Sheet for Supermarkets and Property Managers
7
naturalrefrigerants.com. Kroger $100M Refrigeration 600 Stores Clean Air Act Violations
8
Facilities Dive. Refrigerant Leaks to Cost Kroger $2.5M in Fines, $100M for Appliance Upgrades
9
Federal Register. Public Inspection Copy of Proposed Consent Decree
10
Cincinnati Enquirer. Kroger Clean Air Act Department of Justice Fine Settlement
11
Detroit Free Press. Jury Awards Man $75 Million After Kroger Store Incident
12
Click On Detroit. Oakland County Jury Awards Nearly $77M to Man Who Lost Fingers in Kroger Chemical Explosion
13
Trellis Law. Mierendorf Brian vs Kroger Co Michigan
14
Michigan Courts. Case Search Results for COA #375901
15
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement Actions Under Title VI of the Clean Air Act
16
U.S. Department of Justice. United States Obtains Consent Decree Against Gristedes Supermarkets for Violating Clean Air Act