GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A Florida woman has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the maker of a Sea-Doo brand pontoon boat alleging its “dangerous, unsafe, and defective designs” cost her and other consumers.
Plaintiff Ariana Maria Renee Adkins filed her lawsuit against Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., or BRP, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Gainesville Division.
Under the brand name Sea-Doo, BRP designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes various models of personal watercraft and pontoon boats throughout the United States, including in Wisconsin and Florida.
In particular, BRP manufactures the Sea-Doo Switch boats at BRP US’s manufacturing facility in Sturtevant, Wisconsin.
BRP launched production of the Switch at the Sturtevant facility in January 2022 and has manufactured the Switch there since, according to the lawsuit.
Adkins, an Archer, Florida resident, claims she purchased a new 2023 See-Doo Switch from Sky Powersports of Lakeland, an authorized BRP Sea-Doo dealer, in May 2023.
She alleges the company violated Wisconsin’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, or WDTPA; the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, or FDUTPA; the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act; and state warranty law, among others.
“As one would expect with marine vessels, BRP represents its Sea-Doo Switch pontoon boats as safe, seaworthy recreational vessels suitable for the enjoyment of consumers and their families,” the 55-page complaint states.
“In reality, the Switch boats contain a dangerous and unsafe design defect that allows water to enter and accumulate in the vessel’s hull, causing the boat to lose stability, nose-dive, and capsize.”
The capsizing defect, Adkins alleges, creates a “serious” safety hazard that can result, and has resulted, in passengers being thrown into the water, suffering severe injury, and drowning.
“Tragically, the defects have already been linked to multiple fatal incidents, and the U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that the Switch boats feature an unsafe design, a fact that may be judicially noticed,” the lawsuit states.
Adkins contends that the same defective, non-watertight hull design also permits water to intrude into the Switch boats’ hull and engine compartment during ordinary use, causing engine damage, electronic fault codes, corrosion, loss of propulsion, and near-sinking events.
According to her complaint, BRP issued recalls of the Sea-Doo Switch boats in February 2025 and again in October 2025.
However, she argues each time the company falsely represented to consumers that the defects could and would be remedied through a simple repair.
“In truth, neither the February 2025 sealant ‘repair,’ nor the October 2025 gasket ‘repair,’ nor the software feature BRP began offering in May 2026, eliminates the underlying design defect or makes the vessels reasonably safe and fit for their intended use,” the lawsuit states.
Her own experience with the pontoon boat proves her points, Adkins alleges.
“The very first time Plaintiff put her brand-new Switch in the water – the day after Plaintiff’s purchase in Lakeland, Florida – it took on water so quickly that it nearly sank, and BRP’s authorized dealer replaced it with a new Switch within the week,” the complaint states.
Adkins claims the replacement Switch then suffered a “continuous cascade” of water-intrusion failures over three years of ownership: a factory-misinstalled hull boot that allowed water intrusion, water in the engine, repeated fault codes and loss of function, two capsizing-recall repairs, and – despite every recall repair BRP prescribed, she alleges – an engine compartment full of water on Memorial Day weekend 2026.
“In three years, Plaintiff has been able to accumulate only 23 total engine hours on the boat,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff has also paid for numerous out-of-pocket costs directly tied to the Defects, including, among others, service, repair, additional warranty, and towing costs.”
The suit continues, “BRP’s omissions and misrepresentations regarding the seaworthiness and safety of the Switch boats, including its failure to disclose the Defects and its misleading representations regarding the effectiveness of its recall repairs, deceived consumers, who paid a premium price for vessels that were worth substantially less than represented and who incurred the costs of repairs and other attempts to remedy the Defects – costs that proved futile because the repairs did not, and could not, correct the underlying design defect.”
Adkins’ complaint contends there may be tens of thousands of possible class members.
As of 2025, BRP indicated that about 17,000 Switch boats had been manufactured, about 14,000 of which had already been sold to consumers, and BRP has continued to sell Switch boats since that time, the complaint notes.
BRP sells Switch boats through more than 100 dealers nationwide, including about three dozen in Florida and authorized dealers in Wisconsin.
“The exact number of Class members, and their names and addresses, can be ascertained from Defendants’ and their authorized dealerships’ business records, including warranty registration and recall records,” the filing states.
Adkins seeks an order certifying a nationwide class and Florida class, appointing herself as class representative, and appointing her counsel as class counsel. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP in Boca Raton and Wites & Rogers in Lighthouse Point, Florida, are representing her in the action.
She, on behalf of the classes, also seeks general, actual, compensatory, statutory and nominal damages as well as restitution and disgorgement of the defendant’s unjust enrichment. She also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest and court costs including attorney fees.
In addition, Adkins seeks a declaration that the Switch boats contain defects; that BRP’s recall repairs do not remedy the defects, and an order requiring BRP make “full and accurate” disclosure regarding the risks associated with the defects and the “limitations” of the recall repairs.
