Whirlpool Freezer Drain Tube Settlement: Free Part to Dec 31, 2026

At a glance

Status

Open

Defendant

Whirlpool Corporation

Settlement fund

Not publicly disclosed

Claim deadline

December 31, 2026

No-proof cash option

Yes — Free replacement drain-tube part for a qualifying 'Freezing Event' on eligible Group B refrigerator models, arranged via a Whirlpool service technician (special service project runs through Dec 31, 2026 for Group B models, ran through Dec 31, 2021 for Group A models) -- confirmed in the official 2019 Long Form Notice, Q9. or up to Cash reimbursement for PAST Freezing Event repairs, capped at $150.00 TOTAL per Class Refrigerator (100% of parts + tiered labor: 100% of labor in purchase years 1-3, 65% in year 4, 50% in year 5) in the official Long Form Notice, Q9-10. That reimbursement claim deadline was January 22, 2020 and is long expired.

Max documented payout

$150

Administrator

Angeion Group, LLC

Official site

www.freezersettlement.com

Court

U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (Hon. Beth L. Freeman)

Case number

Julie Corzine v. Whirlpool Corporation, No. 5:15-cv-05764-BLF

Last verified September 9, 2026

Key dates

Milestone	Date	What it means
Claim deadline	December 31, 2026	Last day to file for a payment
Opt-out (exclusion) deadline	October 21, 2019(passed)	Last day to leave the settlement and keep the right to sue
Objection deadline	October 21, 2019(passed)	Last day to object to the terms
Final approval hearing	November 22, 2019(passed)	When the judge decides whether to approve the settlement
Expected payout	Not yet scheduled	Payments are not sent until after final approval and any appeals

Where to file

Whirlpool / Maytag Bottom-Mount & French-Door Refrigerator Freezer Defect Settlement (Corzine v. Whirlpool) is administered by Angeion Group, LLC. The only place to file is the official settlement website:

File at the official site

www.freezersettlement.com

Administrator phone: 1-888-900-7957

Filing is free. No legitimate settlement charges a fee to file a claim.

You cannot file on RecordingLaw.com. We are an independent publisher, not the settlement administrator, and we are not affiliated with any court, agency, or defendant.

What Happened With the Whirlpool and Maytag Refrigerators

Whirlpool Corporation makes bottom-mount-freezer refrigerators under both the Whirlpool and Maytag brands, and later added certain French-door models built on the same platform. A lawsuit alleged that certain model years share a design flaw in the freezer's defrost drain tube. Over time the tube can ice up and block. When that happens, water that should drain away instead backs up, and the freezer can leak water onto the floor, an occurrence the settlement calls a 'Freezing Event.'

An owner sued Whirlpool over this defect in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. The case is Julie Corzine v. Whirlpool Corporation, case number 5:15-cv-05764-BLF, before Judge Beth Labson Freeman.

Where the Case Stands Now

As of September 9, 2026, this case is not an open lawsuit. The court granted final approval of the settlement in 2019. The opt-out and objection deadlines were both October 21, 2019, and the final approval hearing was held November 22, 2019. That part is history.

What is still active is a repair and reimbursement program built into the settlement, run through Whirlpool's own service network. Group A refrigerators had an earlier service window that closed December 31, 2021. Group B units, the larger and more recent group, are covered only through December 31, 2026, and only for a Freezing Event that happens within five years of when you purchased or acquired the refrigerator. Those two conditions stack: whichever comes first controls, and for many owners who bought new years ago the five-year window has already closed even though the program's outer date is still 2026. Someone who acquired the unit more recently, for example as part of a home purchase or remodel, or as a gift, may still be within their own five-year window. The official settlement site also states that for Freezing Events before September 5, 2019, distribution has concluded and no further claims are being accepted.

You may have seen a figure like "$21 million" attached to this settlement in older news coverage. That number does not appear in the court-approved notice or the final approval order, so this page does not repeat it. There is no common fund split among claimants; the real benefit is described below.

Who Is in the Class

You may be eligible if you purchased new, acquired through a home purchase or remodel, or received as a gift, a listed Whirlpool or Maytag bottom-mount-freezer refrigerator, or one of the certain covered French-door models, from model years 2009 through 2018. Eligibility is not based on the brand name alone. It depends on your unit's serial number matching the settlement's eligible-model list.

If you still have the refrigerator, the serial number is typically on a sticker inside the fresh-food compartment, often on the side wall or near the top. If you no longer own the unit, or you are not sure whether your model is on the list, that serial number is still the detail to have ready before you call the numbers below.

How Much You Might Realistically Get

There is no lump-sum payout here, and no dollar figure is guaranteed to anyone. The settlement provides two kinds of help, and most people who use the program will get the first one rather than a cash payment.

The first benefit is a free replacement drain-tube part, arranged through a Whirlpool service technician, for a qualifying Freezing Event on an eligible Group B refrigerator. This does not require you to submit repair receipts first; it is a service call.

The second benefit is reimbursement for documented drain-tube repair costs you already paid for, capped at $150 total per refrigerator. The reimbursement is tiered by how old the unit was when the repair happened: 100% of parts and labor if the repair fell in the unit's first three years of ownership, 100% of parts plus 65% of labor in year four, and 100% of parts plus 50% of labor in year five. Nothing beyond that $150 cap is paid, no matter how much the repair actually cost.

What Proof You Need

For the free replacement part, you generally do not need to submit paperwork in advance; you report the problem and a technician handles the repair. For cash reimbursement of a past repair, you need documentation: a paid invoice or receipt showing what was repaired, when, and what it cost, along with your refrigerator's serial number and the date the Freezing Event happened. Keep those records regardless of which benefit you are pursuing, since the person you speak with may ask for them either way.

If you are ever unsure whether a reimbursement check would be taxable, the honest answer is that it depends on what the payment is replacing. A payment that reimburses a documented out-of-pocket repair cost is not the same, tax-wise, as a settlement for a physical injury or lost income. The IRS explains how settlement payments are generally treated based on what they replace; if the amount matters to your taxes, talk to a tax professional rather than relying on any settlement website, including this one.

How to Report a Freezing Event Right Now

One quirk is worth knowing before you go looking: the official settlement website, FreezerSettlement.com, answers only on a plain http:// address, so a browser that upgrades or forces https can make it look offline when it is not. As of September 9, 2026 the site loads, and it states that distribution for Freezing Events before September 5, 2019 has concluded with no further claims accepted for those, while a future Freezing Event on an eligible Group B model within five years of purchase may still qualify for a free replacement drain tube part through December 31, 2026.

The contact channels stated in the court-approved notice work as well. To report a Freezing Event, call 1-888-900-7957. For questions about reimbursement specifically, call 1-833-456-8243. You can also reach the administrator, Angeion Group, LLC, by email at Claims@FreezerSettlement.com. Before you call or write, gather your refrigerator's model and serial number, the date the Freezing Event happened, and any repair paperwork you already have. Keep your own copy of everything you send.

Because a settlement site that answers only over http is easy to mistake for a dead one, this is exactly the kind of gap scammers look for. Do not hand over a Social Security number, a bank account number, or a payment card to anyone who contacts you claiming to process a "Whirlpool freezer settlement claim" online, especially through any site other than the official one or the phone and email channels above. The real program does not charge a fee, and it does not need your banking details to arrange a repair.

If You're Not Sure Your Refrigerator Qualifies

Start with the serial number. If you cannot find it, or you are not sure whether your model is French-door or bottom-mount, the phone numbers above are the right place to ask before assuming you are covered or excluded. If your refrigerator had a Freezing Event years ago and you already tried to file under the settlement's original claims window, that earlier deadline has long passed; what remains open is the Group B service program, and only for a Freezing Event that happens within five years of your purchase or acquisition date and on or before December 31, 2026, whichever comes first. If your unit is not on the eligible list at all, this settlement does not apply, and a general appliance warranty is a separate matter this page does not cover.

For other open consumer class action settlements, see the full settlement tracker.