Midea Class Action Lawsuit: AC Mold Defect, Recall, and Class

The Midea class action lawsuit is actually a set of proposed class actions filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York after the June 2025 recall of roughly 1.7 million U-shaped window air conditioners that plaintiffs say were prone to growing mold and releasing spores into consumers’ homes. The lead case, Catalano v. Midea America Corp., argues that the recall itself is inadequate because it addresses only the appliance while ignoring contamination that may have already spread through ducts, walls, and other surfaces. A second suit, Canon-Rivera v. Midea, followed weeks later and challenges the recall’s refund process.

The Defect Behind the Lawsuits

The recalled units are Midea U and U+ window air conditioners sold between March 2020 and May 2025 under ten different brand names, including Midea, Comfort Aire, Danby, Frigidaire, Insignia, Keystone, LBG Products, Mr. Cool, Perfect Aire, and Sea Breeze. They were sold at major retailers such as Costco, Home Depot, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Menards, Walmart, Amazon, and BJ’s, at prices roughly between $280 and $500.¹²

The U-shape design uses a “sling ring” on the internal fan that throws condensate across the condenser coils to evaporate moisture and improve cooling. The units were built without conventional bottom drainage holes, on the theory that all the water would evaporate. When it doesn’t, water pools in the base pan with nowhere to go, and mold grows. Proper drainage also depends on the unit being tilted slightly backward during installation, something the class action complaint says many buyers were never told was critical.³

By the time the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on June 5, 2025, the agency had logged 152 reports of mold in the units and 17 reports of consumers with symptoms such as respiratory infections, allergic reactions, coughing, sneezing, and sore throats.¹

What the Class Action Claims

Wayne Catalano filed the lead proposed class action on June 9, 2025, four days after the recall was announced, in the Southern District of New York, case number 7:25-cv-04850. Midea America Corp. is the sole defendant. The complaint seeks to represent every U.S. consumer who bought one of the recalled units during the sales window, along with a New York subclass.⁴

The core allegation is that Midea knew the drain system was defective, sold the units anyway without warning consumers about the mold risk, and then rolled out a recall that fixes the wrong thing. According to the complaint, installing a drain plug does nothing about mold that has already colonized ductwork, drywall, or other porous surfaces inside a home. Professional testing runs $200 to $1,000, and remediation can cost anywhere from $1,500 to more than $10,000. None of that is covered by the recall.⁴

The complaint also calls Midea’s prorated refund offer “wholly inadequate,” arguing that a product prone to fostering mold has “no value” no matter how old it is, and that there is no proof the drain-plug repair actually resolves the underlying defect.⁴

Legal Claims and What Plaintiffs Want

Catalano brings three claims under New York law:

Deceptive business practices under N.Y. GBL § 349, with statutory damages of $50 per transaction and possible treble damages for knowing violations.
False advertising under N.Y. GBL § 350, with statutory damages of $500 per transaction.
Unjust enrichment, on the theory that Midea profited from selling defective units while refusing to pay for the contamination they caused.

The suit asks for money damages, disgorgement of Midea’s profits, and attorneys’ fees. It also asks the court to set up a supervised program that would fund professional mold inspections and remediation for class members.⁴

The Second Class Action Targets the Recall Process

On June 27, 2025, Latazia Canon-Rivera filed a separate class action in the same court. It raises the same New York statutory claims and unjust enrichment theory, but focuses on the mechanics of getting a refund. To claim one, consumers have to unplug the unit, cut the power cord, label it “Recalled,” photograph the disabled device, and dispose of it under local rules. The complaint calls those steps “arduous” and says they are designed to discourage participation and limit Midea’s liability. It argues a full refund should be the default remedy.⁵

Who Can Join the Proposed Class

The Catalano class covers anyone in the United States who bought a recalled U-shape or U+ window air conditioner between March 2020 and May 2025. That includes all ten brand names the units were sold under, not just those labeled Midea.⁴ No class has been certified yet, and no claims process exists. If a class is later certified, notice would go out through the court.

Individual Injury Cases Are a Separate Track

If you were physically harmed by mold exposure from one of these units, the class actions above are not the vehicle for that claim. Consumers alleging respiratory injuries and other health effects have been filing individual product liability suits in federal court. An October 2025 case in the District of New Jersey, brought by two Kansas City residents against Midea America Corp., its Chinese parent GD Midea Air-Conditioning Equipment Co. Ltd., and Lowe’s Home Centers LLC, alleges “severe respiratory issues, pain and suffering, as well as other lasting health effects” and asserts New Jersey Products Liability Act claims for defective design and failure to warn.⁶

Attorney Jason Turchin, who represents plaintiffs in that case, told NJ.com in October 2025 that he had already filed three or four similar suits and had nearly 100 more claims in the pipeline.⁶ In June 2026, plaintiff Jessie Miller filed suit in the same district against Midea America Corp., the Chinese parent, and Amazon.com Services LLC, alleging that a Midea model MAW12V1QWT purchased in June 2023 caused permanent or ongoing respiratory issues and disability. That complaint includes defective design, failure to warn, and breach of express warranty claims.⁷

What Midea’s Recall Currently Offers

While the litigation moves through the courts, the recall itself is live and gives owners two options: a free repair or a refund. The repair is a new drain plug, installed either by a Midea technician or through a do-it-yourself kit that includes a bubble level for setting the correct backward tilt. If a unit doesn’t already have a drain hole, Midea will send a technician to drill one at no cost.¹

Refunds are prorated by age. Per information Midea provided to Wirecutter, units bought within the past 36 months or still under warranty qualify for a full refund; units 37 to 72 months old get 80%; units older than 72 months get 50%.³ To collect, you either ship the unit back with a free label from Midea or submit a photograph showing the unplugged power cord has been cut.¹

One practical caution: taking the recall refund does not automatically waive your right to join a class action or file an individual injury claim, but the terms of any specific release Midea asks you to sign should be read carefully before signing. The Catalano complaint’s argument is essentially that the refund is not full compensation for what buyers lost.

Where the Cases Stand

As of mid-2026, the Catalano class action remains pending in the Southern District of New York with no reported rulings, consolidation orders, or settlement discussions.⁸ Individual injury cases keep being filed in New Jersey federal court, and a separate 2026 case has been docketed there under the name Cameron v. Midea America Corp. Given the scale of the recall and the volume of claims lawyers say they are preparing, consolidation of the federal cases through a multidistrict litigation process is possible, though none has been ordered. Midea and the other named defendants have not publicly commented on the pending litigation.

1
CPSC. Midea Recalls About 1.7 Million U and U+ Window Air Conditioners Due to Risk of Mold Exposure
2
Infectious Disease Advisor. Midea Recalls 1.7 Million AC Units Over Mold Risk
3
NYTimes Wirecutter. Where Are Midea U Air Conditioners
4
ClassAction.org. Catalano v. Midea America Corp. Complaint
5
AboutLawsuits.com. Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Moldy Midea Air Conditioner Recall
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NJ.com. Now-Recalled Air Conditioners Sold at Big Box Stores Spewed Mold, Lawsuit Says
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AboutLawsuits.com. Midea Window Air Conditioner Lawsuit Mold Severe Respiratory Issues
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ClassAction.org. Class Action Lawsuit Calls Midea America Recall of Mold-Prone Window Air Conditioners Inadequate