Bestway Class Action Lawsuit
The lawsuit says Bestway pools 48 inches or taller have outside straps a child can climb. See who was covered and what the $15M settlement pays.
What happens next with the Bestway settlement
The claim deadline passed on October 28, 2026. New claims for this settlement are no longer being accepted.
A judge has not approved the settlement yet. That decision comes at a court hearing set for November 20, 2026, called the final approval hearing. Nothing is paid out before it.
Payments come after approval, and after any appeals. Anyone who objected to the settlement can ask a higher court to look at it again — an appeal — and that has to finish first. Eligible payments are sent once approval is final, and the stretch from a claim deadline to money in hand often runs a year or more. It varies from one settlement to the next.
Filed this claim with Chimo? The status of your claim is on the claims page in your account.
Settlements you can still claim in October 2026
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$25
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$380
Bestway Class Action Lawsuit
Susana Castro sued Bestway USA in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in August 2025, saying that its above-ground swimming pools have a safety defect. The case, In re: Bestway Above-Ground Pools Litigation, No. 1:25-cv-09570, is pending before Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins. Castro filed the first complaint on August 12, 2025, and three similar suits filed in California and Illinois were consolidated into a single action that November.
The plaintiffs allege that Bestway-branded pools 48 inches or taller — including Power Steel, Steel Pro, and Coleman Power Steel models sold from 2008 through 2024 — were designed with compression straps running on the outside of the vertical support legs. Young children can allegedly use those straps as a foothold to climb into the pool unattended, creating a potential drowning hazard. The complaint also alleges that the voluntary recall Bestway issued with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in July 2025 was delayed and inadequate because it offered only a repair kit and no monetary remedy.
The consolidated complaint asserts thirteen claims, including violations of state consumer protection statutes, breach of express and implied warranty, fraud, negligence, and unjust enrichment. Bestway denies that its pools are defective and denies all wrongdoing, and the court has not decided who is right. Laukaitis Law LLC and Pearson Warshaw, LLP lead the case as co-lead class counsel.
Bestway Class Action Settlement - $15,000,000
Bestway agreed to pay $15,000,000 to settle claims that its above-ground pools pose a drowning hazard. The settlement, reached after two full-day mediation sessions before retired Judge Diane Welsh and filed with the court on April 30, 2026, received preliminary approval from the court on May 4, 2026. Bestway denies any wrongdoing, and the settlement is not an admission of fault.
The settlement covers everyone in the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia who purchased a Bestway-branded pool 48 inches or taller with compression straps located outside of the support poles — including Power Steel, Steel Pro, and Coleman Power Steel models sold between 2008 and 2024 — for personal use before May 4, 2026. The fund pays cash awards to eligible claimants along with notice and administration costs, attorneys' fees, and service awards, and it is non-reversionary: no money goes back to Bestway.
Importantly, the settlement only resolves economic claims about the pools' design. It does not release any claims for personal injury or wrongful death, and it does not limit any rights under the separate pool recall. The deadline to file with Chimo was October 28, 2026, and the deadline on the official settlement website is October 30, 2026.
Claims closed: October 28, 2026
Bestway Pool Class Action Payout: $40 or 10% of Price Paid
Every settlement class member who submitted a valid, signed claim form is eligible for a cash payment, and no receipt was required. The settlement offered a flat $40 to eligible claimants without proof of purchase. If the fund cannot cover every claim in full, those $40 payments are reduced pro rata, meaning each one shrinks by the same share. Claimants who submitted valid proof of purchase — a store receipt, an online order confirmation, or any other verifiable record — could claim 10% of the actual price they paid, or 10% of the pool's average retail price if their documentation did not show a price. If money is left over, payments to valid claimants may be increased.
Only one claim was allowed per household, and the pool had to be bought new from a retailer rather than second-hand. Claimants could choose to be paid by Venmo, Zelle, or paper check.
Payments are made to eligible claimants only after the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved. The final approval hearing is scheduled for November 20, 2026, before Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins in Chicago, so no payments can go out before that date.
Product Safety Recall Class Action Settlements
Bestway Pool Class Action Eligibility
The Bestway settlement covered people who purchased a Bestway-branded above-ground pool that is 48 inches or taller — including Power Steel, Steel Pro, and Coleman Power Steel models sold from 2008 through 2024 — with compression straps running on the outside of the vertical support legs. Buyers had to be in the United States, its territories, or the District of Columbia, and had to have bought the pool before May 4, 2026, from a retailer, for personal or household use.
A few groups are excluded even if they own a qualifying pool: people who bought their pool second-hand, wholesalers and retailers who bought pools for resale, government entities, Bestway employees and affiliates, and anyone who opts out of the settlement. The claim form asked for the pool's brand, its dimensions, and either its model number or the serial number printed on the pool liner near the drain valve or pump inlet.
FAQ
The lawsuit alleges that compression straps running outside the pools' vertical support legs give young children a foothold to climb into the water unattended, creating a potential drowning hazard in pools 48 inches and taller.
No. Bestway and the CPSC announced a voluntary recall on July 21, 2025, offering a repair kit. The settlement is separate, offers cash to eligible claimants instead, and does not limit any of your rights under the recall.
Claimants who submitted a receipt or other verifiable proof could claim 10% of the price they actually paid, or 10% of the pool's average retail price if their documentation did not show a price.
Claimants could claim a flat $40 cash payment. No receipt was needed, only the pool's brand, dimensions, and either its model number or serial number. If the fund cannot cover every claim in full, the $40 payments are reduced proportionally.
Yes. The settlement releases only economic claims about the pools' design. Personal injury, bodily injury, and wrongful death claims are expressly not released, no matter what a class member chose to do here.
Claimants chose Venmo, Zelle, or a paper check. Those who picked Venmo or Zelle gave the mobile number or email tied to that account; checks are mailed to the address on the claim.
Class counsel may ask the court for up to one-third of the $15,000,000 fund in fees plus litigation costs, and each class representative may receive a $2,500 service award. The court decides the final amounts.
Nothing goes back to Bestway. The fund is non-reversionary. Money left over is first shared among class members with valid claims, and anything still remaining goes to a court-approved nonprofit tied to consumer safety, product safety, or drowning prevention.
Sources
These are the court's own records for this case. They are hosted here unchanged, so you can check anything on this page against the documents themselves.
- Class Action Complaint (PDF) Complaint · Filed August 12, 2025 · U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · Case 1:25-cv-09570
The full case file is on the court docket: view the docket.