Samsung Faces Class Action Over Exploding Washers

Samsung Electronics America Inc. is the defendant in a class action lawsuit over its allegedly defective top-load washing machines that tend to explode.

“Specifically, the Samsung Washing Machines described herein are prone to catastrophic failure in that the Washing Machines explode unexpectedly while being operated as intended and instructed by Samsung, rendering the Washing Machines unmerchantable and unfit for their intended use,” according to the class action complaint.

The Samsung class action lawsuit goes on to state that the force of the explosion makes the washing machines “irreparably damaged” and could cause “serious harm” to people in the immediate vicinity when they explode.

According to the Samsung exploding washing machine class action lawsuit, there are numerous examples to support its case. Plaintiffs Suzann Moore and Michelle Soto Fielder both claim that they purchased brand new Samsung top-loading washing machines which later blew up.

Moore asserts that she purchased hers from Sears in January of 2014 in Indiana, and it worked for almost two years without any problems. Then on the morning of Dec. 23, 2015, the washing machine “violently exploded,” damaging the Samsung dryer which was next to it.

Similarly, plaintiff Fielder states that she bought a new Samsung top-loading washer from Lowe’s in June of 2012, in the State of Texas. According to the complaint, Fielder’s washing machine exploded on Feb. 9, 2016, “with such ferocity that it penetrated the interior wall of her garage” and that the “point of impact was so deep that it pushed through into [Fielder’s] living room, which shares a wall with her garage.”

The Samsung class action lawsuit also cites numerous other examples from Samsung washing machine owners posting on consumer protection websites and news outlets online. In many examples, the washing machine tops came off and caused damage to surrounding property.

In one example, a self-professed “safety health and environmental professional” who responded to an industrial accident involving the largest Samsung top-load washer on the market remarked that the washer “destroyed itself so violently that all technicians, safety professionals, engineers, and layman are completely impressed with the level of carnage.”

The Samsung exploding washing machine lawsuit argues that Samsung knew or should have known about the defect in its washers. While the lawsuit acknowledges that most washers explode after Samsung’s one-year express warranty is over, federal law creates an “implied warranty” that the washers are designed to operate and not explode. “There is no reasonable or acceptable rate for washing machines to explode,” the complaint contends.

Plaintiffs Moore and Fielder seek to represent a Class of “Any resident of the United States or its territories who (1) purchased and/or (2) was a reasonably expected user whose property was injured by any model of Samsung top-loading Washing Machine while such Washing Machine was operated within the scope of its intended use as a home appliance[.]”

The Samsung washer class action requests damages from the exploding machines, as well as a court order preventing Samsung from selling any of the alleged defective washing machines.

The plaintiffs are represented by Scott L. Starr, Andrew B. Miller, Mark S. Fryman, and Jacob M. O’Brien of Starr Austen & Miller, LLP, Carl Joseph Brizzi, III, of Carl Brizzi & Associates, LLC, and Anthony W. Patterson of Parr Richey Obremskey Frandsen & Patterson, LLP.

The Samsung Exploding Washing Machine Class Action Lawsuit is Suzann Moore, et al. v. Samsung Electronics America Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-538, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.

UPDATE: Samsung has issued a voluntary recall of 34 top-loading washing machines. Find out more information on how you can benefit here. 

UPDATE 2: February 2019, the Samsung washer class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.