Every time you rent a tool from Home Depot, a pressure washer, a tile saw, a drain snake, there is a line item on your receipt that says “Damage Protection.” It is listed as optional. But if you have never noticed it appearing on your bill despite saying no, or if you tried to use it when something went wrong and were turned away, you are not alone. Two separate class action lawsuits say Home Depot has been running this protection plan in a way that does not match what customers are actually promised.
There is no settlement to claim right now. No claim form, no deadline, no payout. Both cases are working their way through federal court. This page explains what the lawsuits actually allege, what happened to customers who tried to rely on the protection, and what renters should do in the meantime.
What Is Home Depot’s Damage Protection Plan?
When you rent equipment at Home Depot, the checkout terminal adds a damage protection fee to your bill. It equals 15 percent of your base rental price, that rate was raised from 10 percent in March 2019. On a $200 weekend rental, that is $30 on top of the base price.
In theory, the plan covers accidental damage to the equipment that happens during normal use. The idea is that if the tool breaks or gets damaged while you are using it properly, you are not on the hook for repair costs. It sounds straightforward.
Two lawsuits say the reality is a lot messier than that.
The Two Lawsuits Explained
Lawsuit 1: When “Optional” Is Not Really Optional
Case: E&G Enterprise, Inc. v. Home Depot USA, Inc., No. 1:24-cv-03020-ELR, Northern District of Georgia (filed July 2024)
This lawsuit targets the way the fee shows up at checkout. Home Depot’s payment terminal defaults to including the damage protection charge on every transaction. It appears pre-selected on the screen. To remove it, you have to actively find the option and press “Decline.”
The complaint argues that the contract language describes damage protection as something a customer must affirmatively “select” to be charged for. Pre-selecting it, and relying on customer inertia to keep it there, flips that entirely. Most people do not scrutinize every line of a checkout screen when they are in the middle of renting a tool for a job.
The lawsuit also takes issue with how late fees are calculated. Under older Home Depot rental contracts from 2015 to 2019, the complaint alleges that the company used a compressed daily rate cycle rather than the true weekly rates specified in the agreement. And it claims Home Depot applied the damage protection percentage to late fees as well, even though the contract language says the fee should be based only on the base rental amount, not add-ons.
A store manager confirmed to the plaintiff in a separate case that “the default setting is to add the protection,” even when customers explicitly decline it. That admission appears in the complaint as evidence that the pre-selection is not accidental.
This case is still pending in the Northern District of Georgia. No class certification ruling has been issued yet.
Lawsuit 2: The Protection Plan That Did Not Protect
Case: Mathews v. Home Depot USA, Inc., No. 1:22-cv-02605, Northern District of Georgia (filed June 2022, dismissed February 2025)
This one tells the story of what actually happens when a customer tries to use the damage protection they paid for.
A Texas resident rented a drain camera from Home Depot for $139. He paid an extra $20.85 for damage protection, about 15 percent of the rental. During the job, the camera got stuck in his drain line. A plumber had to demolish masonry and rebar to retrieve it. The camera came out damaged.
He filed a damage protection claim expecting it to be covered. Home Depot denied it, saying the damage was caused by “neglect” rather than a covered incident.
The lawsuit argued this made no sense. The contract language said exclusions were limited to “theft, abuse, or intentional acts.” Getting a tool stuck while using it is not abuse or an intentional act. But Home Depot’s internal policy apparently applied a different standard: only “normal wear and tear” was covered, which is a much narrower category than what the customer was told at the time of the rental.
The case was dismissed in February 2025. The judge ruled that the plaintiff had forfeited his right to dispute the charges because he did not provide written notice of his complaint within the 25-day window specified in the rental agreement. That ruling was a procedural loss, not a finding that Home Depot did nothing wrong on the substance.
What This Means If You Rent Tools From Home Depot
No settlement exists. No claim form exists. If you rented a tool from Home Depot and were automatically charged for damage protection you did not want, or if you had a damage claim denied, there is nothing to file today.
But there are things worth knowing:
Check your receipts. If you have rented from Home Depot, look at your past receipts for the damage protection line item. Compare what you were charged against what you actually agreed to. If you rented frequently, that 15 percent fee adds up quickly across multiple rentals.
If you need to file a damage claim, act fast. The Mathews case was dismissed specifically because the customer did not provide written notice within 25 days. That deadline is in the rental agreement. If Home Depot ever denies a damage protection claim on a rental, send a written dispute immediately and keep proof that you sent it.
Document the pre-selection issue. If you rent a tool and see the damage protection fee pre-checked on the terminal, photograph the screen before you remove it. That documentation could matter in future litigation or if you need to dispute a charge.
Where the Cases Stand Now
| Case | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|
| E&G Enterprise v. Home Depot | July 2024 | Active, pending in N.D. Georgia. No class certification yet |
| Mathews v. Home Depot | June 2022 | Dismissed February 2025 on procedural grounds |
| Simmons v. Home Depot | August 2025 | Active, filed N.D. Georgia, No. 1:25-cv-02409 |
The Simmons case is the newest. Filed in August 2025 by plaintiff Randall Simmons, it targets the same automatic opt-in practice. It was filed by attorneys Taylor C. Bartlett and W. Lewis Garrison Jr. of Heninger Garrison Davis LLC, and is seeking a jury trial, declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Three separate cases targeting the same practice suggests the plaintiffs’ bar sees real merit here. When that happens, courts often consolidate the cases or class certification becomes more likely. But none of that has happened yet.
Will There Be a Settlement?
Possibly, but there is no timeline to give you. Home Depot has not publicly offered to settle any of these cases.
Most class actions that survive early dismissal do eventually resolve through settlement rather than trial. But “eventually” can mean months or years. These cases are still in the early stages of litigation. If a settlement does happen, we will update this page immediately.
For now, the practical answer is: watch this space.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. As of September 2026, there is no settlement and no claim form for the Home Depot damage protection class action. The lawsuits are active in federal court but have not reached a settlement. This page will be updated when that changes.
Not through a class action claim right now. If you were charged the fee and believe you actively declined it, you can try disputing the charge directly with Home Depot customer service or through your credit card’s dispute process. That is a separate process from any class action.
According to Home Depot’s contract language, it covers accidental damage during normal use of the rented equipment. Exclusions are supposed to be limited to theft, abuse, or intentional acts. The lawsuits allege that in practice, Home Depot applies a narrower “normal wear and tear” standard internally and denies many claims that should be covered.
The dismissal was procedural, not a ruling on the merits. The judge found that the plaintiff lost his right to challenge the charge because he did not send written notice of his dispute within the 25-day window specified in the rental agreement. The court did not rule that Home Depot’s damage protection practices were legal, it simply found the plaintiff had forfeited his ability to challenge them in that case.
The current active cases are being handled by plaintiff-side class action firms. The Simmons case is being pursued by Heninger Garrison Davis LLC. These are private class actions brought on behalf of consumers, not government enforcement actions.
Bookmark this page. We update it as the case develops. You can also register your interest with the attorneys who filed the Simmons or E&G cases, as plaintiff firms sometimes maintain contact lists for potential class members ahead of a settlement.
No settlement to claim here? See our full list of open class action settlements for cases currently accepting claims. If you want to understand how class action payouts work before a settlement happens, our guide to how class action settlements work covers the whole process.
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Case details are based on publicly available court filings and news reports as of September 2026. Case status can change quickly, verify current status through court records or directly with the attorneys involved before making any decisions.