National General Insurance Company v. Whirlpool Corporation

Let’s get one thing straight: a dishwasher — yes, that glorified metal box that cleans your greasy forks — allegedly flooded an entire kitchen in Jenks, Oklahoma, and now Whirlpool and one of its parts suppliers are being sued for over $55,000. Not because it leaked — we’ve all seen that sad puddle under the machine after a heavy cycle — but because a tiny valve inside it supposedly failed catastrophically, turning Jonathan and Shannon Goodman’s home into a DIY indoor pool. And while you or I might just mop it up and curse the appliance gods, their insurance company, National General Insurance, has decided to go full courtroom gladiator on Whirlpool and Robertshaw Controls, demanding justice — and $55,141.34 — in the name of subrogation. Because apparently, when your dishwasher goes full Exorcist, the legal system says: Someone’s gotta pay.

So who are these people? Well, first — the Goodmans. Jonathan and Shannon, a presumably normal couple living their best suburban life in Jenks, Oklahoma, where the lawns are green, the neighbors are quiet, and the dishwashers are supposed to stay in their lane. They had a Whirlpool dishwasher — not some sketchy off-brand model bought off Facebook Marketplace with “minor water issues” — a real, reputable, probably stainless-steel-fronted appliance that you’d expect to last more than five years without declaring war on your kitchen. They also had home insurance through National General Insurance Company, which, like most insurers, has a clause that says: If your stuff gets wrecked by someone else’s faulty product, we’ll pay you… but then we get to chase the responsible party for the money. That legal concept is called subrogation, and it’s basically the insurance version of “I got your back… now go get their back.”

Which brings us to the plaintiff in this case: National General Insurance Company — not because they personally suffered the flood, but because they’re now standing in the Goodmans’ shoes, legally speaking, to sue the alleged culprits. And who are those culprits? None other than Whirlpool Corporation — the appliance giant that’s been in American kitchens since your grandma’s time — and Robertshaw Controls Company, a lesser-known but equally important player that apparently manufactures the valves that control water flow in dishwashers. Think of Robertshaw as the guy who makes the brakes on your car — if those fail, it’s not the car company alone that gets blamed. Here, the insurance company is arguing that the valve made by Robertshaw was defective from the start, and Whirlpool installed it into their dishwasher without catching the flaw. So while Whirlpool slapped its name on the appliance, Robertshaw supplied the ticking time bomb inside.

Now, what actually happened? According to the petition, on May 20, 2025 — a perfectly ordinary Sunday, probably involving leftover lasagna and a stack of wine glasses — the Whirlpool dishwasher decided it was done being useful. It failed. Not just a minor drip. Not a slow seep under the door. No, this was a full-blown catastrophic failure caused, the filing claims, by a defective valve manufactured by Robertshaw. That valve, which is supposed to regulate water intake and shut off when it’s done, allegedly didn’t shut off. Or maybe it opened when it shouldn’t have. Either way, water escaped — a lot of it — and began doing what water does best: spreading, soaking, warping, and generally making life miserable. The result? $55,141.34 in damages to the Goodman home. That’s not just a new dishwasher or a few square feet of warped flooring. That’s structural damage. That’s ruined cabinets. That’s ripped-up subflooring. That’s the kind of mess that requires contractors, dehumidifiers, and probably a very sad insurance adjuster taking photos in rubber boots.

And here’s the kicker: the filing claims the defect existed before the dishwasher ever reached the Goodman home. It wasn’t misuse. It wasn’t poor installation. It wasn’t “oh, we ran it during a thunderstorm and forgot to unplug it.” No, this was allegedly a flaw baked into the product from the factory — something the Goodmans had no way of knowing, and no ability to prevent. That’s important, because it shifts the blame squarely onto the manufacturers. And that’s exactly why National General is suing under products liability — a legal claim that says: if your product is unreasonably dangerous or defective and it causes harm, you’re on the hook. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t personally hand the dishwasher to the customer. If your name is on it — or your parts are inside it — you’re in the game.

So what does National General want? $55,141.34. Not a round number. Not an estimate. $55,141.34 — down to the penny. And while that might sound like a lot for a broken dishwasher (and honestly, it is a lot), consider this: that number likely includes not just the cost of repairs, but also things like labor, materials, temporary housing if the home was uninhabitable, and maybe even some lost property. In the world of insurance claims, $55k isn’t outrageous for significant water damage — especially if floors, walls, and cabinetry were destroyed. But here’s the snarky truth: Whirlpool probably sells dishwashers for around $800. Robertshaw probably sells valves for less than $20. And now they’re being sued for nearly 70 times the cost of the entire appliance. That’s the brutal math of modern liability — one tiny part fails, and suddenly the bill looks like a down payment on a house.

Now, let’s talk about our take — because come on, this is glorious. We’ve covered lawsuits over dog bites, fence disputes, and people suing because their neighbor’s wind chimes were “spiritually disruptive.” But this? A dishwasher flood escalating into a $55,000 legal battle between an insurance company and two major manufacturers? This is peak petty civil court drama. The absurdity isn’t that the dishwasher broke — appliances fail. The absurdity is that a single valve — a component so small you’d need a diagram to locate it — could allegedly unleash enough water to justify a lawsuit in the tens of thousands. And yet, here we are. The insurance company isn’t mad at the Goodmans. They’re not even mad at the plumber. They’re going straight to the source: the corporate giants who built the machine and the part inside it.

Do we think Whirlpool and Robertshaw are evil masterminds plotting kitchen-based water terrorism? No. But is it kind of thrilling to imagine a courtroom showdown over a malfunctioning dishwasher valve? Absolutely. Are we rooting for the insurance company to at least make these corporations explain how a $15 valve could cause $55k in damage? You bet we are. And honestly, if this case goes to trial, we want to see the forensic plumber take the stand. We want diagrams. We want slow-motion reenactments. We want to know exactly how many gallons escaped, and whether the dishwasher was running a “heavy wash” or just a “rinse.”

In the end, this case isn’t really about a flooded kitchen. It’s about accountability, product safety, and the ripple effect of a single failure in a complex supply chain. But also? It’s about the beautiful, ridiculous drama of American civil court — where even the most mundane appliances can spark legal fireworks. And if nothing else, this case should serve as a warning to every homeowner: never underestimate your dishwasher. Because today it’s washing your forks. Tomorrow? It could be bankrupting a multinational corporation.