Samsung Refrigerator Class Action Enters Mediation

A Samsung refrigerator class action lawsuit alleging the ice makers on certain models leak has been ordered to mediation by a federal court judge.

Lead plaintiffs Ronald and Debra Bianchi claimed in their Samsung ice maker class action lawsuit that a defect in Samsung refrigerators with French door external dispensers has led to a number of problems.

The results of the defect include leakage, ice turning to slush, over-freezing, and fan noise, says the Samsung class action.

The original complaint was filed in New Jersey federal court in 2017. In April of this year, U.S. District Court Judge Claire C. Cecchi ordered the parties to mediation. The parties will need to agree upon a mediator, or a third party that will help them resolve the claims in the Samsung refrigerator class action lawsuit.

In the original complaint, the Bianchis say they spent weeks determining which fridge to buy, and settled on a new Samsung 22.5 cu. foot French Door Refrigerator with an external built-in ice maker after conducting extensive research into the more than $2,000 purchase. They say that just after the warranty on their fridge expired, the ice maker began to act up.

According to the Samsung ice maker class action lawsuit, the unit began to leak and make “loud, jarring noises.”

The Bianchis allege in their Samsung ice maker class action lawsuit that thousands of consumers have been subject to the leaky refrigerators. The units at issue include residential refrigerators with a French door external dispenser built-in.

The allegedly affected models include: RF23HCEDB, RF23HCEDT, RFH23HSESB, RF23HTEDB, RF23J9011, RF24FSEDB, RF25HMEDB, RF263BEAE, RF263TEAE, RF26J7500, RF28HDEDB, RF28HDEDT, RF28HFEDB, RF28HFEDT, RF28HFPDB, RF30HDEDT, RF31FMEDB, RF31FMESB, RF323TEDB, RF32FMQDB, RF34H9950, and RF34H9960 in all colors.

According to the complaint, the defective ice makers lead to not only leaks out of the fridge, but inside as well. In addition, consumers complain that the ice bucket becomes stuck, possibly due to a clogged drain from the defect.

As a result, say the plaintiffs, the ice maker becomes unusable in some units.

The ice maker in the affected refrigerators is the TSB 2015 model, alleges the class action lawsuit.

The Samsung ice maker class action lawsuit contends that the appliance maker refuses to fix the problem or replace the defective units. Instead, consumers must conduct “hands-on maintenance and repair,” alleges the complaint.

The plaintiffs say that they and others would not have purchased or paid as much for the affected Samsung refrigerators if they had known about the defective ice maker.

Samsung has fought the class action lawsuit, filing a motion to dismiss prior to the court ordered mediation.

How do you feel about the case entering mediation? Do you think a class action settlement should have been reached to help all consumers?

The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Mitchell M. Breit and Paul J. Hanly, Jr. of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, Jonathan Shub of Kohn Swift & Graf PC, Gregory Coleman, Mark Silvey, Adam Edwards and Lisa White of Greg Coleman Law PC.

The Samsung Refrigerator Class Action Lawsuit is Bianchi, et al. v. Samsung Electronics America Inc., et al., Case No. 2:17-cv-01263, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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