‘Defective’ Ikea, Caesarstone Quartz Countertops Are Prone to Permanent Staining, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action claims Ikea’s line of Kasker custom quartz countertops and Caesarstone’s quartz countertops suffer from a defect that causes them to permanently stain, streak or become marked up from normal, everyday use.

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The 40-page lawsuit says that although defendants Ikea North America Services, Ikea US Retail and Caesarstone USA have known since at least 2015 that the countertops are prone to stains, streaks and marks that cannot be removed using their own care instructions, the companies have actively concealed the alleged defect from customers.

The complaint claims the defendants “continually deny” the existence of the countertop defect when contacted by dissatisfied customers. Instead, Ikea and Caesarstone provide “excuses for sub-par performance,” stating that the countertops are “intended to show marks,” that the finish makes them harder to clean, or that the stains are the consumer’s fault, the case contends.

What’s more, the suit says, the defendants require customers to pay out of pocket to clean, repair or replace the apparently defective countertops. According to the lawsuit, Caesarstone says its warranty does not cover “routine maintenance” such as “removing stains and water spots” by following the techniques specified in its care and maintenance guidelines. Similarly, Ikea’s warranty does not extend to “wear and tear such as stains, scratches, water spots and burns” or “failure to comply with care instructions,” the case relays.

“In sum, [the defendants’] warranty does not cover stains and water spots caused by daily use because [the defendants] claim that routine cleaning according to their instructions will remove such stains and water spots,” the complaint says.

The plaintiffs, two California residents, say it wasn’t until a fabricator came to their house to install the Kasker Anthracite Stone Effect custom countertops they picked out from Ikea that they learned the product was manufactured by Caesarstone. The case claims that manifestations of the defect soon appeared on the plaintiffs’ countertops, such as water stains from the bottom of a drinking glass that do not come out even after being cleaned according to Caesarstone’s care instructions.

When Caesarstone was alerted to the issue, a warranty specialist for the company said there was “little” that could be done since the countertops have “a concrete finish which takes more effort to clean than the normal polish product,” the filing shares.

“Prior to this exchange, neither IKEA nor Caesarstone had told [the plaintiffs] that the countertops they had chosen took more effort to clean,” the suit says. “To date, [the plaintiffs] have not received a permanent repair to the defect under warranty and their countertops continue to exhibit the defect.”

Per the case, the plaintiffs and other customers would not have bought the countertops—or would have paid significantly less for them—had they known the products were prone to permanent stains arising from normal use.

The filing claims Ikea and Caesarstone know the countertops are defective from the consistent and disproportionate number of complaints consumers have posted about the issue, yet the companies “continue to cover up and conceal the true nature of the problem today.”

The lawsuit looks to represent any person or entity in the United States that purchased Ikea’s Kasker custom quartz countertops or Caesarstone’s quartz countertops.

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