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Samsung Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over Exploding Galaxy Note 7 (vice.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 troubles are continuing -- the company was just hit with a class action lawsuit in New Jersey focused on recovering cell phone contract fees for customers who were left with an unusable phone for several weeks. The suit has three initial plaintiffs, who say that they were left without a phone for the several weeks between when Samsung and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission originally issued a recall and told consumers to "power down" their devices (September 9), and when the company began offering replacement devices (September 21). It also notes that Samsung didn't make enough replacement devices immediately available -- which is probably a good thing considering that the company ultimately had to recall those as well. "Samsung informed consumers they would have to wait several days, and even weeks in many cases, before receiving a replacement smartphone," the suit alleges. "During this time, and as a result of Defendant failing to provide consumers with an adequate replacement, consumers continued to incur monthly device and plan charges from their cellular carriers for phones they could not safely use." The total recall and destruction of Galaxy Note 7 phones is unprecedented for a modern smartphone, so there isn't much to look at in order to project whether the case will succeed. "Samsung has agreed to recall and reimburse the cost of the device, but their customers have had to continue to pay on their data and voice plans during the time they had to make their device inoperative until they received their replacement device," Richard McCune, one of the lawyers representing the class, told me. "That is the loss that the case is focused on."
I'll wager there were emails requesting that customers at least be exhorted to "use only Samsung manufactured and approved chargers" - and since we've all known certain Android apps to eat battery like candy, I'll wager there were more than a few internal emails warning that certain apps could be dangerous as well.
The Bene Gesserit understand the correct response. The courts need to tell Samsung: "You will pay."
Samsung are already taking a massive financial hit over the failure of the Note 7, so there's no punitive sense in bringing this suit.
Reading the summery this lawsuit it's far from frivolous, it has real merit.
There are many different payment plans, some rather spendy -while many of them involved paying off the S7 included in the monthly charges.
Unlike the PS3 rebate, it's very easy for these people to prove they did indeed own a S7 and length of time they suffered.
And unless you're going to take the time and resources to file your own suit, you might as well take the money - there's a chance of it being >$0 reward for only a few minutes' work. It's already being taken from the company no matter how many claimants file.
No it does not. Samsung is already giving them the full purchase price of the phone + $100** back. It's highly doubtful, even with the stupidly expensive plans at most places here in the U.S., that they paid more than $100 in thirteen days FOR THE ONE PHONE.
There are many different payment plans, some rather spendy -while many of them involved paying off the S7 included in the monthly charges.
Even if paid monthly the full cost of the phone gets reimbursed by Samsung ( and the credit they get as well ) and there are no more phone payments due. This includes the partial month that was used since they are not prorating the partial month or ANY time used.
This is just several jackasses being ambulance chasers like people always say lawyers are.
** granted it is only $100 if you buy another Samsung phone. Otherwise it was something like $25, which should still cover the time the phone wasn't being used because they were good kids and listened to the recall notice.
To err is human; effective mayhem requires the root password!
The charger board itself doesn't have had to catch fire to be the source of the problem, it could simply be the thing that ended up overloading the battery such that a short while later the battery runaway heating cycle became noticeable in the form of flame...
I'm pretty sure the fires all had something to do with either the charging or power management firmware, after all batteries from two different manufactures had the same issue... plainly the issue is not the battery itself.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Samsung are already taking a massive financial hit over the failure of the Note 7, so there's no punitive sense in bringing this suit. The plaintiffs won't receive much compensation, maybe a $20 credit for their next phone bill. Only the lawyers will get anything out of this.
Quite right. In fact, Samsung has been an ideal corporate citizen here - they were the ones to first draw attention to this problem, then do the recall-exchange and finally the ultimate recall
The only lawsuits that would be justified would be the ones where people were actually injured - like the phone overheating in their pants or so on. Otherwise, Samsung had already first offered a replacement, and when the replacements were no better, then a complete recall. People also had the option of exchanging w/ any other Samsung phone, if they were buying it carrier-less, or any other phone, if from their carriers. So people really have no basis to claim any indemnity.
Just yet another ambulance chasing scheme from your friendly neighborhood attorneys