A bronze statue of Lady Justice holding scales is displayed indoors.
NEW ORLEANS – The manufacturer of a recalled water heater and home improvement retail giant Home Depot want a lawsuit filed against them seeking damages for a Louisiana house fire heard by a federal court.
Defendants Rheem Manufacturing Company and Home Depot USA Inc. filed their removal notice in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Plaintiffs Paulo and Isabella Rosa filed their lawsuit in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans June 25, 2025. The lawsuit seeks damages for injuries and destruction of property the plaintiffs allegedly sustained from a house fire that occurred in Orleans Parish on March 2, 2025.
“The product was sold to plaintiffs by defendant Home Depot despite its knowledge that Rheem had issued a recall of the product approximately one year before the sale and had notified Home Depot of the circumstances of the recall,” the plaintiffs’ complaint states.
The couple contend Home Depot is a bad faith vendor of the product.
In their six-page notice, the companies argue removal is timely. On March 11, they received the plaintiffs’ repair estimate.
The estimate, prepared by Ken Savage with Gurtler Bros. Consultants Inc., totals $352,759.99.
“If Plaintiffs prove that such repairs were a result of the subject incident, which is denied, Plaintiffs damages could meet or exceed the jurisdictional minimum of $75,000.00,” the defendants’ notice states.
In federal court, the “amount in controversy” refers to the monetary value of a plaintiff’s claim. This must exceed $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, for diversity jurisdiction.
Originally, the plaintiffs claimed “a number of injuries and damages” arising from the 2025 house fire, but failed to provide any support, Rheem and Home Depot argue.
“Now and though Defendants deny Plaintiffs’ injuries and damages rose out of the subject incident, evidence and facts have come to light very recently to establish that Plaintiffs may be able to recover damages that exceed the jurisdictional minimum of $75,000.00 if they are able to prove liability and causation at trial,” their notice states.
The companies claim complete diversity of citizenship also exists. Plaintiffs are Louisiana citizens while the defendants are citizens of Delaware, Rheem and Home Depot contend.
For federal jurisdiction to exist, there must be complete diversity, meaning no plaintiff shares a state of citizenship with any defendant.
“As a direct consequence of the aforesaid fault of Rheem and Home Depot, plaintiffs suffered physical and non-physical injuries, damage to, or destruction of their immovable and moveable property, loss of hedonic pleasures, incurred the expense of restoration of the property and medical treatment, and sustained a loss of income and loss of earning capacity,” the plaintiffs’ 2025 petition states.
“Rheem and Home Depot are solidarily liable for all damages of plaintiffs described or referred to herein.”
Staines Eppling & Kenney LLC in Metairie, Louisiana, is representing Rheem and Home Depot in the lawsuit.
Peter Meisner, an attorney in River Ridge, Louisiana, is listed as the plaintiffs’ attorney.
