The never-ending dishwasher recall. (Product Safety).

The latest chapter in the recall saga of some General Electric and Hotpoint dishwashers centers on four lawsuits. Their outcome may well affect consumers nationwide. Here are the details:

Full restitution in New York. In February, a New York State appellate court ordered GE to fully reimburse state residents who bought a new dishwasher as a result of the original 1999 recall. The court's decision means that as many as 7,500 New Yorkers may receive as much as $475 because they replaced a dishwasher suspected of being a fire hazard, only to find later that a relatively inexpensive fix could have eliminated the problem. The court's ruling covers only New York State residents. A GE spokes-woman, Kim Freeman, contends that as few as 36 New York residents are eligible for restitution under the court's decision. A third-party administrator who decide who is reimbursed under the ruling.

Other actions, smaller awards. A class-action settlement in federal court in California, between GE and some West Coast plaintiffs, directed GE to pay affected consumers $20 or extend their service warranty for one year. Lawsuits are pending in Illinois and Connecticut.

Clint Krislov, an attorney for plaintiffs in the Illinois suit, told us he and other attorneys have appealed the federal settlement. Krislov says it is "substantively unfair" because of the New York ruling.

If the federal settlement stands, however, consumers nationwide would be bound by its terms; only New York consumers would be able to receive the higher compensation.

The recall's long history. In 1999, in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), GE issued a recall ...