Lawsuits Allege FieldTurf Synthetic Turf Fields Degrade Faster Than Represented
Posted Apr 12, 2017 by Alan Rosca
FieldTurf USA, Inc., a leading supplier of synthetic turf fields to school districts, independent schools, colleges, universities, training facilities, and multi-sport complexes nationwide, has been sued by customers due to premature degradation of their synthetic turf fields. FieldTurf fields are used for soccer, lacrosse, football and baseball and are referred to as “Duraspine Turf” “Monofilament Surfaces” or “Synthetic Turf Fields.”
FieldTurf touted its’ synthetic turf fields as the best money can buy. But, according to a lawsuit filed by FieldTurf against one of its suppliers, the Duraspine fibers supplied to FieldTurf were defective, causing premature disintegration of the FieldTurf fields. FieldTurf settled the $30 million lawsuit in 2014 for a confidential amount, but did not inform customers about the defect. According to a report in NJ Advance Media, an investigation of FieldTurf revealed that:
- FieldTurf executives were aware the turf was deteriorating faster than expected and might not last a decade or more as promised during most of the time they were selling the fields — at $300,000 to $500,000 each;
- Candid, internal emails discussed their overblown sales pitches, yet executives never changed their marketing campaign for Duraspine fields;
- A lawyer warned that some of those internal emails could be damaging in a lawsuit, and an executive sought to delete them. An IT consultant refused, calling it a “possible crime.”
- Executives have never told most customers about Duraspine’s problems or how to identify signs it was prematurely falling apart from the time fields began to fail in 2006 until today;
- Some customers who did report problems claim FieldTurf “slow-footed” warranty claims and told them the deterioration was normal, or that their fields needed more maintenance.
Now, purchasers of FieldTurf’s synthetic turf fields are striking back. Recent customer lawsuits filed against FieldTurf claim that management knew about the defect no later than 2006, but kept selling Duraspine Turf fields to unsuspecting customers anyway. Between 2005 and 2012, FieldTurf sold and installed approximately 1,700 synthetic turf fields throughout the United States, generating revenues of $570,000,000.
Training facilities, sports complexes, school districts, independent schools, colleges, universities, and other purchasers of FieldTurf synthetic turf fields between 2005 and 2012 may have a claim. Please contact a GSP attorney to learn more about the lawsuits and what you can do. Please contact Paul Scarlato at [email protected] or Mark Goldman at [email protected] or call (484) 342-0700 with any questions you have.
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