Shillcraft produces craft kits containing yarn and fabric at their warehouse in Baltimore. Their fire sprinkler system, which was manufactured and sold by Grinnell and Tyco, on May 25, 2000, "...suddenly and without warning, activated and sprayed a large quantity of water over the yarn and fabric stock held... by Shillcraft. The sprinkler head... sold by... Grinnell [was] defective... in that the sprinkler head contained a latent manufacturing flaw in its head solder which... [gave] way without the presence of fire or high heat.... As a result of the damages... Zurich paid Shillcraft the excess of $300,000..." (Case #C-02-0367)

Dearden’s was a Department store with a building at 700 S. Main St. in Los Angeles, Ca. On about August 11, 1999, according to their court complaint:

The sprinkler and alarm systems either manufactured, designed, sold, installed, pressurized and/or monitored by [Grinnell], failed, causing severe water damage to Dearden’s premises and personal property.... On or about February 13, 2000, the sprinkler system again malfunctioned, causing additional water damage.... The second sprinkler system failure occurred after Defendant Grinnell inspected and repaired the system following the August 11, 1999 failure. The property damage [in excess of $75,000] was a direct and proximate result of defendants’ negligence, breach of contract, and breach of warranty... (Case #CV 01-6992 CAS(MANx)

Pikes Peak Raceway contracted with Grinnell Fire Protection to install equipment, including a diesel engine to support a fire protection system at their property in Fountain, Colorado. In August 1999, instead of protecting the facilities against a fire, the Grinnell-installed equipment actually caught fire, "due to the negligent installation by Grinnell," according to the court complaint. Pike’s Peak’s fire damage losses totaled $98,053.

Their court suit charged that Grinnell, "...caused the automated pressure diesel engine ... and battery cables to catch fire ... Grinnell ...Committ[ed] numerous violations of the local and national safety and building codes ... fail[ed] to properly install the automated pressure diesel engine ... fail[ed] to hire and supervise employees possessing the necessary skill and knowledge to properly install the automated pressure diesel engine." (Case #01CV2355)

The Following cases are listed by the name of the party suing Grinnell, and/or the name of the facility that was damaged by the sprinklers’ failures)

A Grinnell sprinkler system spewed water, damaging and destroying Shutt’s property in Utah. (Case #950901999 PD)

Taylor’s court suit charged that a malfunctioning Grinnell sprinkler head flooded their property in Orem, Utah. (Case #960904248 PD)

"Substantial amounts of water leaked" into this Los Angeles landmark after a sprinkler system pipe burst. (Case #747427)

A Grinnell installed and maintained fire sprinkler system leaked and flooded this jewelry store in Los Angeles, causing over $24,000 in damages. (Case #689 292)

This company charged that a water pipe broke and caused thousands of dollars in damages, due to the negligence of Grinnell and another company that performed a renovation there. (Case #96 CVH01-0268)

A Grinnell-installed sprinkler system malfunctioned, causing over $20,000 to this Nevada hotel. (Case #CV93-02268)

A sprinkler head burst at the Wilshire Avenue, Los Angeles law firm’s offices, "flooding the premises."

Pipes in a Grinnell-installed sprinkler system burst and flooded the Sparks’ dream home, causing over $40,000 in damage. (Case #97L 4227)

The fire protection system at this Michigan facility discharged a large amount of water when there was no fire, causing "disastrous" property damage. (Case #96-7278)

Paseo Partners filed a counter claim against Grinnell, charging the company with installing 33 leaking fire sprinkler heads in their apartment building. (Case #CJ-97-4527)

A fire protection system failure at this Indiana company caused $38,000 in damages. Grinnell tried to blame a valve company, but Grinnell’s suit was dismissed. (Case #49D01-9609-CP-1300)

An overhead sprinkler system froze and burst, because it had not been properly drained just three months earlier during an inspection. (Case #CV00-09-2085)

A Grinnell-installed fire sprinkler broke and flooded their El Paso, Texas storage facility with "a vast amount of water." Damages were estimated at $166,000. (Case #2000-554)

Grinnell had inspected, on five occasions, the water feeder system for the fire protection sprinklers at the Adam Wholesalers warehouse in Ohio. Just four months after the last inspection, the feeder main for the sprinkler system broke, flooding the business site, and causing over $2.7 million in water damage. (Case #98-CV-860)

On New Year’s Eve, 1999, The Laurel Avenue Limited Partners’ warehouse in Hamilton, Oh. caught fire. Grinnell had just revamped the Laurel Avenue fire protection sprinkler system.

The fire "developed, intensified, and spread ... in an uncontrolled manner, resulting in substantial destruction ... to the premises, severe disruption and interruption of Laurel’s ongoing business, and losses of income, profits, and other damages and costs," according to the court complaint. Damages totaled $1,629,042. (Case #01-CV-493)

Ladd Furniture’s warehouse in Swanton, Oh., was equipped with a Grinnell dry pipe sprinkler system. But the warehouse was anything but dry, when the "...sprinkler system discharged, drenching [Ladd’s] inventory with water and causing substantial property damage." The damages exceeded $590,000. (Case #3-98-07039-JGC)

In 1998, Grinnell installed the fire protection piping system on the interior of the Hiwan golf course’s clubhouse in Evergreen, Co. According to two court suits, "Grinnell’s negligence" resulted in water leakage from the piping system that flooded the clubhouse basement with water up to ten inches deep.(Case #99CV2648)

Mailing Services of Pittsburgh owned a warehouse in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, for storage and for their working facility. When a sprinkler head malfunctioned, and "substantial amounts of water" flooded into the warehouse, causing

$106,636 in damages. (Case #GD 96-11829)

One day at the Sports Deli in Pittsburgh, "...a sprinkler head malfunctioned within the ... business, which caused substantial amounts of water to fall upon the contents." (Case #GD-98)

The Sheraton South Hills is a top-shelf hotel in Pittsburgh. But it didn’t look top-shelf after a Grinnell-manufactured sprinkler system broke, "causing extensive damage to plaintiff’s building." Damages exceeded $35,019. (Case #GD95-2749)

A Grinnell meter, flange, and gasket were defective, causing over $20,000 in water damage to the Elko County Courthouse. (Case #96828)

This company claimed defective valves purchased from Grinnell leaked oil and gasoline from their underground piping. (Case #9710-07933)

This large contractor charged that Grinnell supplied defective materials for a job at the University of California Medical Center. (Case #98AS00851)

Richard Gonzalez sued Grinnell, claiming they were responsible for an exploding high pressure fire sprinkler system at the United House of Prayer that injured him. (Case #720302)

Fire Protection Group sued Grinnell, claiming they sold defective pipe that leaked. (Case #BC170171)

Mosley’s federal court suit claimed that Grinnell’s defective products caused his injuries. (Case #IP00-C-0802-H/G)

This class action suit in California charged that Grinnell’s parent company, Tyco, sold defective valves containing elevated levels of toxic metals that may have contaminated drinking water supplies in several cities. (Case #726930)

Grinnell installed leaking pipes on an offshore oilrig and then sued their supplier over the controversy. (Case #538-963)

Grinnell sold piping with pinhole leaks to a company that installed the pipes in a branch of Fifth Third Bank in Westerville, Ohio. The pipe leaked, damaging the bank and creating a watery mess. (Case #00CVH01-453)

Beverly Ferrell and her son Tyler where drenched with toxic chemicals from a Grinnell fire protection system at a McDonald’s, when the fire suppression system was improperly aimed and shot its gasses into the Ferrell’s car. (Case #CC-00 7354e)

The residents of this San Diego Condominium discovered that "numerous fire sprinkler heads were over-sprayed with paint, stucco, and/or other materials..." and that Grinnell had failed to detect the problem during two inspections. (Case #721996)

Grinnell negligently inspected and serviced a fire sprinkler system at this Kentucky facility. A burst pipe spewed water throughout the home, causing $44,316 in damages. (Case #92C100921)

A Grinnell fire detection and prevention system failed to warn the patients and employees of a blaze and failed to control the fire that killed three patients at this hospice. (Case #89-363603 NO)

Morris and other residents sued Grinnell after the fire protection system failed to control a massive fire at the Safeway warehouse in Richmond, Ca., near their homes. (Case #659682-6)

Jennifer Glover charged that Grinnell’s smoke detectors failed to activate during a fire that caused her 4-year-old son to suffer permanent brain damage. (Case #CV97-01-0188)

The Grinnell fire extinguishing system failed to control a fire at an Indiana branch of this restaurant. Long John Silvers suffered tens of thousands of dollars in damage from the fire that began in a fryer vat. (Case #49C010008CT001573)

Action Fire bought defective sprinkler parts from Grinnell. The parts leaked and caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages and failed to contain a fire that killed one of Action’s customers, John Goik. (Case #613252)

This clothing manufacturer suffered $207,000 in damages after a Grinnell fire protection system failed to prevent or control a fire at their Los Angeles facility. (Case #BC51584)