PEX Piping Lawsuit Update: Uponor Open, NIBCO Still Paying

A PEX piping lawsuit is a product-defect claim against a manufacturer of cross-linked polyethylene plumbing — typically NIBCO, Zurn, Uponor, Kitec/IPEX, or Watts — over tubing or fittings that cracked, leaked, and caused water damage. Most of these cases have settled and the claim deadlines have passed. The exception is Uponor, where new class actions over AquaPEX pipes are active in federal court as of late 2025 and early 2026, and attorneys are still investigating claims from homeowners nationwide.¹

Uponor AquaPEX: The Lawsuits That Are Still Open

Uponor, Inc., based in Apple Valley, Minnesota, manufactured red, white, and blue AquaPEX piping between roughly 2010 and 2021. The red and blue lines were discontinued in 2021. Uponor has not recalled the product and has reportedly denied homeowner claims for reimbursement, pointing to installation errors, high water pressure, or high temperatures as the cause of failures.¹

Plaintiffs disagree. According to recent complaints, the pipes are failing within three to ten years of installation, well short of Uponor’s advertised 50- to 100-year lifespan, and thousands of failures have been reported to the company by installers and property owners.² The lawsuits blame Uponor’s “Engel method” of manufacturing, a hot cross-linking process that the complaints say consumes the pipe’s protective antioxidants prematurely and leaves them unevenly distributed, which opens the door to oxidative degradation and brittleness. For the colored pipes, a flame treatment used to apply the lacquered coating is alleged to further destroy antioxidants on the exterior surface, producing pitting and what the complaints call “mud cracking.” The cold-expansion fitting method is also faulted for creating stress concentrations where cracks form just outside the reinforcement ring.³

Pending and Recent Uponor Cases

The Uponor litigation has moved through several filings:

Matzdorf v. Uponor (D. Colo., Case No. 1:21-cv-02057), filed in July 2021 on behalf of Colorado homeowners, settled privately in May 2024 and was dismissed with prejudice on October 18, 2024. Terms were not disclosed. Claims of other property owners were dismissed without prejudice, leaving room for future suits.⁴⁵
A February 2025 lawsuit brought by Lindsey Harmon, Maribeth Borroughs, and Seunghun Kim, covering 2010–2021 pipe sales, is proceeding after the court denied Uponor’s motion to compel arbitration.⁶
Clifford v. Uponor (N.D. Cal., Case No. 3:25-cv-01286-BJC-DDL), filed May 2025, references forensic testing of failed pipe sections. Uponor filed a motion to compel arbitration in July 2025, and the case is pending.⁷
Binkley v. Uponor (N.D. Cal., Case No. 3:25-cv-07180), filed August 25, 2025, by Larry Binkley, Gerald Chan, Orville Vogelgesang, and Ronelli Quadra Lising. Binkley alone reported more than $50,000 in remediation costs; Lising reported more than $11,000 since 2018.³

None of the active Uponor cases has reached class certification or trial.¹

NIBCO: Two Settlements, One Still Pays Future Leaks

The largest PEX settlement to date resolved Kimberly Cole, et al. v. NIBCO, Inc. (Case No. 13-cv-7871, D.N.J.) and a coordinated Tennessee case, Meadow v. NIBCO Inc. Plaintiffs alleged that NIBCO’s 1006 PEX tubing (sold under NEXT-Pure, DURA-PEX, and PEX brands), its ASTM F1807 yellow brass fittings, and its stainless steel clamps leaked and damaged homes and commercial buildings. NIBCO denied the allegations and agreed to pay up to $43.5 million. Final approval came on May 16, 2019.⁸⁹

The class covered anyone who owned or occupied a U.S. building containing the covered products at any time since January 1, 2005, including subsequent purchasers, builders, contractors, and subrogated insurers.⁹ Property-damage claimants could recover 25% to 70% of documented repair costs. A re-plumb option paid $600 per full fixture and $300 per half-fixture, capped at $16,000, for owners who experienced three or more qualifying leaks at separate times.¹⁰

The deadline for past property damage claims expired October 13, 2019, but future leak claims are still accepted within 150 days of a qualifying leak. The administrator has been completing appeals and calculating second pro rata payments; no date for those distributions has been confirmed. Class members can call 1-855-649-5968 or email info@pexsystemsettlement.com.⁸

A separate $7.65 million settlement, Matson v. NIBCO (W.D. Tex.) and Garrett v. NIBCO (N.D. Ala.), covered the same NIBCO products in homes built by D.R. Horton–Birmingham in Alabama and Continental Homes of Texas. Final approval was granted October 15, 2021. The claims deadline was May 16, 2025, and the settlement is now closed.¹¹

Zurn, Kitec, and Watts: All Closed

Zurn Industries settled In re Zurn Pex Plumbing Products Liability Litigation (D. Minn., Case No. 0:08cv01958) for $20 million over its F1807 yellow brass crimp fittings sold between 1996 and 2010. Plaintiffs alleged dezincification: zinc leaches out of the brass alloy under certain water conditions, leaving the fitting porous and prone to cracking. Zurn denied wrongdoing. Final approval was granted February 27, 2013, and the absolute cutoff for claims was April 1, 2020. No new claims are accepted.¹²¹³

Kitec, a PEX-aluminum-PEX composite system from IPEX, was the subject of similar brass fitting dezincification litigation. The claims deadline was January 9, 2020, and the settlement no longer accepts filings. Approved payments were processed between late December 2024 and early January 2025. Claimants who believe they submitted a valid claim but did not receive payment can contact info@kitec-settlement.com or 1-877-337-1293.¹⁴

Watts Water Technologies has resolved PEX-related brass fitting claims through settlements, though amounts and terms remain confidential.¹ An earlier Uponor case over F1807 brass fittings, separate from the current AquaPEX pipe litigation, was also resolved in the District of Minnesota.¹⁵

The Defects Behind These Cases

The lawsuits name different manufacturers, but the failure modes overlap. Knowing which applies to your plumbing helps you identify which case, if any, fits your situation.

Dezincification of brass fittings: certain water chemistry pulls zinc out of brass alloy fittings, leaving them porous and weak. This drove the Zurn, Kitec, Watts, and earlier Uponor fitting cases. The industry has moved toward dezincification-resistant brass and plastic (PPSU) fittings.¹⁶
Chlorine degradation: PEX exposed to water with high chlorine or chloramine levels becomes brittle, cutting service life below the 50-year rating that meets ASTM F2023.¹⁶
Oxidative degradation: the core allegation in the Uponor AquaPEX cases. Antioxidants in the polyethylene are consumed or unevenly distributed during manufacturing, and oxygen then attacks the polymer, producing embrittlement, microcracks, and through-wall failures.
Fitting installation stress: expansion-type fittings can concentrate mechanical stress at the connection, and miscalibrated crimp or clamp tools can damage tubing during installation, producing pinhole leaks.¹⁶

What To Do If Your PEX Is Failing

Document the leak before anyone repairs it. Keep photos, the piece of failed pipe or fitting, repair invoices, and any plumber’s notes identifying the manufacturer and the product line. For NIBCO 1006 tubing, F1807 fittings, or stainless clamps installed in a U.S. building since January 1, 2005, you have 150 days from a qualifying leak to file under the national settlement.⁸ For Uponor AquaPEX, the class actions are new and still at an early stage, so a homeowner with failing red, white, or blue pipe installed between 2010 and 2021 may want to speak with a class action attorney while cases are being investigated.¹ If your product falls under a closed Zurn, Kitec, Watts, or Alabama/Texas NIBCO settlement, those claim windows have passed, and your remedy, if any, would run through your homeowners insurance or a direct action.

1
ClassAction.org. Uponor PEX Class Action
2
ClassAction.org. Uponor PEX Lawsuit Alleges Defective AquaPEX Pipes Can Crack, Leak Just Years After Installation
3
Sauder Schelkopf LLC. Binkley et al. v. Uponor, Inc. Class Action Complaint
4
ClassAction.org. Discontinued Red, Blue Uponor PEX Piping Plagued by Cracking Defect, Class Action Alleges
5
ClassAction.org. Matzdorf et al. v. Uponor, Inc. et al. Settlement Notice
6
Polypipe News. Lawsuits Allege Uponor Sold Defective PEX Pipe
7
ClassAction.org. Clifford v. Uponor, Inc. Class Action Complaint
8
PEX System Settlement. PEX System Settlement
9
Angeion Group. NIBCO PEX Settlement Summary Notice
10
ClassAction.org. How to File a Claim for the NIBCO PEX Tubing Settlement
11
Top Class Actions. Alabama and Texas NIBCO Defective Products $7.65M Class Action Settlement
12
PR Newswire. Court to Notify Owners of Homes and Other Structures Containing Plumbing Systems With Zurn Pipe Fittings
13
Top Class Actions. Zurn PEX Pipe Fittings Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
14
Kitec Settlement. Kitec Settlement
15
Stutman Law. Class Action Settlement Threatens Carriers Subrogation Rights
16
PEX Universe. Problems With PEX Pipe and How to Prevent and Fix Them