Owners of Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Maytag three-door refrigerators who claimed frost clog repair or replacement reimbursement are waiting on individual claim decisions, not a single payout date. The Paperno v. Whirlpool settlement received final approval on May 13, 2025, and no appeal appears in the Ninth Circuit’s public records.
What Is This About?
Paperno v. Whirlpool Corp., No. 3:23-cv-05114-RFL, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, settled claims that certain Whirlpool-made three-door refrigerators built from 2012 through 2019 could fail to defrost the evaporator. Plaintiffs alleged that frost and ice then built up and kept the fresh-food section from cooling properly, which the settlement calls a Frost Clog Issue. Whirlpool denied that the refrigerators were defective and denied wrongdoing.According to the settlement website, Judge Rita F. Lin granted final approval on May 13, 2025, and the district court case closed the next day. The deadline for problems that happened before January 31, 2025 was June 18, 2025. Claims for later problems stay open on a rolling basis through December 31, 2028.
This is a reimbursement program, not a fund split among claimants. Each approved claim pays back documented out-of-pocket repair or replacement costs up to a cap, so there is no single distribution date for everyone.
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When Payments Can Go Out
The class notice says benefits are issued after any appeals are resolved. The settlement agreement ties its obligations to an Effective Date, three business days after final approval and after the time for any challenge in the district court or on appeal has run out.The Ninth Circuit’s public oral-argument, opinion and memorandum-disposition records contain no appeal in Paperno v. Whirlpool as of September 24, 2026. The only Whirlpool appeal in those records is an unrelated 2020 case.
The agreement does not set a fixed number of days for paying approved claims, as many settlements do. It does require Whirlpool to pay class counsel’s fees and the service awards, up to $1,160,000 combined, within 30 days after the Effective Date. That money comes from Whirlpool and does not reduce reimbursements to class members. Neither the settlement website nor the court record reviewed for this article announces a date for paying past-issue claims or confirms that payments have started.
How a Claim Is Reviewed
The administrator reviews each claim form and its documents. It must show three things: that the refrigerator was acquired new in a qualifying way, that it had a Frost Clog Issue, and that the owner paid out of pocket to repair or replace it. The model and serial number must match the qualifying list, which also sets the manufacture date that starts the eight-year clock.Denials pass through the lawyers on both sides first. At least 35 days before sending any denial notices, the administrator must give Whirlpool and class counsel two lists: the claims it found valid, and the claims it plans to deny, with the reason for each. Either side can challenge a claim on the list. If class counsel challenges a planned denial, the notice is held back until the lawyers meet and confer. That step alone can add weeks before a claimant hears anything.
Deficiency Notices and Denials
Before denying a claim for insufficient proof, the administrator must send a Notice of Claim Deficiency. The notice names the problem, such as an illegible or incomplete invoice, and allows no more than 30 days to fix it. It goes by email when one is on file and by first-class mail otherwise, so a claimant who filed on paper should watch the mail. Insufficient proof is the only curable defect. A claim with no required proof at all is denied without a chance to cure.A class member who disputes a denial can ask for review. The administrator sends the claim to Whirlpool and class counsel, and Whirlpool decides whether it is valid. That decision is final unless class counsel contests it within 30 days, first directly with Whirlpool’s lawyers and then, if they cannot agree, before the court.
For a claimant waiting on an answer, the practical steps are to keep the claim confirmation and every invoice, and to check the email address used on the claim form, including spam folders. Questions about a specific claim go to the administrator, using the contact options listed on the official settlement website.
Claims for New Frost Clog Problems
A refrigerator that develops a Frost Clog Issue after January 31, 2025 can still qualify if the problem occurs within eight years of the manufacture date, or a later documented purchase or delivery date. The claim is due within 90 days after the repair is completed or the replacement is bought, and the program stops accepting claims on December 31, 2028.Repair reimbursement is capped at $300 in years one through three, $225 in years four through six and $150 in years seven and eight. Replacement reimbursement is a percentage of the original price and is higher for owners who asked Whirlpool for a replacement before paying out of pocket. The full eligibility rules are on the Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Maytag frost settlement page.
Questions
When will Whirlpool frost clog settlement claims be paid?
There is no single payment date. The settlement reimburses individual documented repairs and replacements rather than dividing a fixed fund, and future-issue claims can be filed through December 31, 2028. The notice says benefits are issued after any appeals are resolved. Neither the settlement website nor the court record reviewed for this article announces a payment date for past-issue claims.
Was the Whirlpool frost clog settlement appealed?
The court granted final approval on May 13, 2025, and the district court case closed the next day. The Ninth Circuit’s public oral-argument, opinion and memorandum-disposition records show no appeal in Paperno v. Whirlpool as of September 24, 2026.
What is a Notice of Claim Deficiency in the Whirlpool settlement?
It is the notice the administrator must send before denying a claim for insufficient documentary proof, such as an illegible or incomplete document. It identifies the problem and allows no more than 30 days to fix it. A claim that is missing required proof entirely does not get this chance to cure.
Can a denied Whirlpool frost clog claim be challenged?
Yes. If a class member disputes a denial, the administrator sends the claim to Whirlpool and class counsel. Whirlpool’s decision is final unless class counsel contests it within 30 days, first with Whirlpool’s lawyers and then, if needed, before the court.
Can I still file a Whirlpool frost clog claim?
Only for a Frost Clog Issue that occurred after January 31, 2025, on a listed refrigerator within eight years of its manufacture or documented purchase or delivery date. The claim is due within 90 days after the repair is completed or the replacement is bought, and no later than December 31, 2028. The June 18, 2025 deadline for earlier problems has passed.
Sources
- Amended Settlement Agreement, ECF No. 74-2 — the Effective Date definition, the claim-review and denial-list procedure, deficiency notices and disputes, and the fee payment term.
- Long Form Notice — benefit caps, proof requirements, deadlines and the statement that benefits issue after any appeals are resolved.
- Docket, Paperno v. Whirlpool Corporation, No. 3:23-cv-05114 (N.D. Cal.).
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, oral argument archive, and its published opinions and memorandum dispositions, searched September 24, 2026.
- Official Whirlpool refrigerator settlement website.
