Benton Harbor, Mich., May 10 (Bloomberg News)- The Whirlpool Corporation, the largest United States appliance maker, was ordered to pay $581 million by an Alabama jury that said three people who bought satellite television dishes were mislead over a credit agreement with the company’s former finance unit.

In February 1995, a telemarketer from Gulf Coast Electronics contacted Barbara Carlisle and offered here an 18 inch RCA satellite dish with no down payment and installation costs built into the monthly fee. The telemarketer allegedly told Carlisle her payments would be $34 per month for three years.…

Whirlpool paid $580 million in punitive damages making it if not the biggest settlement in US history, one of the biggest. The story is indicative of Whirlpool's corrupt culture and why a whistleblower like Pinkney can't be tolerated.

This story published by The New York Times in 1991 explores the growth of "home equity theft," in which homeowners are duped into signing loans that are tied to their mortgage, using the home as collateral. Often, these people don't realize the costs or consequences. The article quotes Beasley Allen's Tom Methvin, who describes some of the cases he is fighting on behalf of the plaintiffs.