A major legal battle has erupted over a potentially life-threatening product, as a class action lawsuit accuses a lighting manufacturer of inadequate recall efforts. The complaint was filed by Mary Molina in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on December 11, 2024, against Good Earth Lighting, Inc. The lawsuit centers around defective rechargeable lights that pose significant fire and burn hazards due to overheating batteries.
The case began when Good Earth Lighting, Inc., in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced a recall of over 1.2 million rechargeable lights on June 6, 2024. The CPSC had already documented incidents including one fatality and another consumer treated for smoke inhalation after fires were caused by these lights in their homes in 2023. Additionally, there were at least nine reports of overheating incidents leading to fires and property damage before the recall was announced. Despite acknowledging the defect and danger posed by these products, Good Earth Lighting allegedly failed to provide adequate refunds or compensation to affected consumers.
Mary Molina's involvement stems from her purchase of these defective lights from Lowe’s in 2022 for her California residence. She experienced firsthand the dangers when one light overheated and caused property damage. After disposing of the hazardous product, she found herself without recourse due to Good Earth's policy of only offering replacements to those who still possessed the faulty items—a policy she claims is insufficient given the circumstances.
Molina's lawsuit highlights what she describes as a deficient recall effort by Good Earth Lighting designed more to protect corporate profits than consumer safety. The company reportedly buried warnings about the defects deep within its website and denied refund requests while offering replacements only if consumers retained their defective units—an impractical solution for many who discarded them out of safety concerns.
The legal filing accuses Good Earth Lighting of violating multiple consumer protection laws including California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL), Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), False Advertising Law (FAL), Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, breach of implied warranty, unjust enrichment, and fraud by omission/intentional misrepresentation. Molina seeks various forms of relief including certification of class action status for affected consumers nationwide, compensatory damages exceeding $5 million collectively for all class members, restitutionary disgorgement of profits gained through alleged deceptive practices, injunctive relief prohibiting further unlawful acts by Good Earth Lighting along with attorney fees and costs associated with litigation.
Representing Mary Molina are attorneys Joel D. Smith and Aleksandr “Sasha” Litvinov from Smith Krivoshey PC based in Boston along with Yeremey O. Krivoshey from their San Francisco office. The case is identified under Case No: 1:24-cv-12746 with proceedings set before judges yet unnamed at this stage.