Whirlpool Freezer Drain Tube Settlement: Repair Program

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 July 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.

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

Here is the part that makes this page different from most settlement write-ups: the official claims website, FreezerSettlement.com, is not currently loading. As of July 2026, repeated attempts to reach it returned no response. That does not mean the program has ended; the underlying settlement and service program are still real and still governed by the court-approved notice. It means the website itself is temporarily down.

Until it is back, use the contact channels stated in that court-approved notice directly. 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, since you cannot check a claim's status on a website that is not loading.

Because the official site is down while the underlying program is still active, 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 a site other than 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.