EAST ST. LOUIS – For three and a half years, a letter without a return address or proof of service sustained a potential class action against Wal-Mart over helium tanks until U.S. District Judge David Dugan shut the action down on Aug. 2.
Dugan granted judgment on the argument that customer Trista Oettle of Carlyle did not notify Wal-Mart of her claim before suing.
“The purpose of notice before suit is to give sellers a meaningful opportunity to investigate and resolve breaches short of litigation,” he wrote.
“That purpose is not fulfilled by a nondescript letter from an unidentified source complaining of an unidentified problem with a product,” he added.
Dugan found that even if Wal-Mart received a letter, a lapse of 21 months and 27 days after Oettle knew of the alleged defect was unreasonable as a matter of law.
Oettle and spouse Travis Hellige bought four helium tanks from Wal-Mart on three occasions in 2018 to inflate balloons for birthday parties.
Their counsel Peter Maag of Wood River filed a breach of warranty complaint in Madison County Circuit Court in February 2020, claiming the balloons didn’t float long enough.
Wal-Mart removed the case to district court, claiming the Class Action Fairness Act required federal jurisdiction because the amount in controversy exceeded $5 million.
Maag moved to remand the case to Madison County, and District Judge Staci Yandle denied the motion.
She found Wal-Mart swore that Balloon Time sales totaled $4,182,949.15 in the relevant period.
Wal-Mart estimated $3,445,394.25 for shipping products back and $2,090,872 for customer costs in returning each product.
“Plaintiffs do not present any countervailing evidence,” she wrote.
When Dugan joined the district court, the clerk assigned him to preside.
In 2021, Maag asked Dugan to dismiss Hellige from the case.
“Due to recent developments with Lance Hellige’s limited availability, related to a criminal proceeding that was pending in Clinton County Circuit Court, plaintiff’s counsel inquired if defense counsel would have an objection with Trista Oettle proceeding as the sole named proposed class representative,” he wrote.
The defense didn’t object.
In February WMIX radio of Mount Vernon reported that police in Carlyle arrested Travis Hellige on charges of delivering methamphetamine and fentanyl.
In 2022, Maag amended the complaint to allege consumer fraud against tank maker Worthington Cylinder of Ohio.
He claimed the exterior of the product box stated, “Made in the USA with global components.”
Packaging inside the box allegedly stated, “Balloons made in Malaysia.”
Maag claimed Oettle would have paid less for the product had she known that all component parts were not made in the USA with global components as the exterior represented.
Dugan dismissed Worthington Cylinder last August, finding “Made in USA with global components” was truthful and substantiated.
“The label tells the consumer that the product is made in the United States but makes no promise about the source of the product’s component parts,” he wrote.
Dugan found the fact that the balloons came from Malaysia didn’t render the label false.
Wal-Mart moved for summary judgment this year, and Dugan granted it.
Oettle testified that she knew at the end of the first party that the kit failed to perform as pledged on the label.
Dugan found Oettle didn’t attempt to obtain a refund or communicate her dissatisfaction because she chalked it up a loss and was too busy.
She claimed that she and her husband wrote a letter to Wal-Mart on Jan. 27, 2020, attempting to obtain a refund.
“Oettle says she mailed the letter to Walmart, but she is not sure where,” he wrote.
She testified that she probably mailed it to Wal-Mart in Carlyle.
Dugan concluded the letter provided no contact information for use in identifying the transactions in issue, referring only to “this balloon time helium tank you sold me about two years ago.”
“The letter is signed, but the signature is illegible,” he wrote.
The letter also didn’t include a return address or identify the sender or the transactions.
“Oettle presented no evidence showing the letter was actually mailed, the address to which it was mailed, or that it was in fact delivered,” he wrote.
Dugan found neither Wal-Mart in Carlyle nor the contact center within Wal-Mart had a record of receiving the letter.
He found that in Illinois a buyer who discovers a breach of warranty must notify the seller or be barred from any remedy.
He noted that this requirement protects a seller’s ability to investigate a breach, allows a seller to cure a defect or minimize damages, and encourages settlement.
Dugan held that notice must be made within a reasonable time after a buyer discovers or should have discovered a breach.
He quoted the Illinois Supreme Court that it’s essential to notify a seller that a transaction is troublesome and must be watched.
Dugan added that the claim would fail even if Wal-Mart received the letter.
He found it failed to identify a particular transaction and vaguely described an expectation that helium would inflate a balloon for more than a few hours.
He found reasonableness typically depends on circumstances but becomes a question of law when no inference can be drawn from the evidence other than that notice was unreasonable.
“Wal-Mart was denied the opportunities to examine or test the products, to interview witnesses who attended the parties, and minimize damages or correct the defect,” he wrote.
Dugan concluded that the delay affected Wal-Mart’s ability to investigate whether they wanted to discontinue selling the kits, which could have significantly reduced the size of the class.
“Because the delay in notification prejudiced Wal-Mart in these ways, it is unreasonable as a matter of law,” he wrote.
Cathleen Huang and Richard Ergo of California, James Ozog of Chicago, and John Allen of St. Louis represented Wal-Mart.