Samsung Will Pay $2.8M To Settle Galaxy Speed Class Action

Samsung recently agreed to pay $2.8 million to resolve class action claims that the company misled customers about their Galaxy S4 speeds.

The settlement would benefit consumers who purchased one or more 16GB Galaxy S4 smart phones between April 2013 and July 2013 in the state of California.

Each of these Class Members would receive up to $10 in a cash payment if they submit a valid Claim Form. Exact payment amounts will vary depending on the number of the claims filed. The Samsung class action settlement would also provide $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees.

According to plaintiff counsel, this settlement is a favorable conclusion to the Samsung class action.

“Samsung has represented that it would continue to vigorously oppose both class certification as well as the merits of plaintiff’s claims if the case continues,” plaintiff attorneys said in the Samsung class action settlement filing.

“While class counsel are confident in their ability to certify a class and to maintain class action status through trial, there are risks inherent in any litigation, including challenges in proving liability and damages, as well as the possibility that Samsung will raise meritorious defenses to the certified claims.”

Plaintiff Daniel Norcia filed his Samsung class action lawsuit in 2014, claiming that the tech company deceived consumers about the speeds on their Galaxy S4 phones.

According to Norcia, Samsung designed their phones to circumvent “benchmarking” applications which measure phone speeds in presale tests.

Software on the phones allegedly detected benchmarking apps and increased performance speeds if these apps were running. This allegedly resulted in higher speed results that were not actually reflected in the phone speeds.

According to the Samsung class action, consumers were deceived into thinking that the phones would perform at a higher speed only to be disappointed when they purchased the phone.

“Samsung also knew that if it artificially boosted the performance of its devices when running benchmarking apps, reviewers and the public would falsely believe that the Galaxy S4 was similarly fast in real-world situations,” the Samsung class action lawsuit claimed.

“In reality, the processors in the Galaxy S4 run at a lower speed and the artificial performance boost disappears when the devices are performing real world tasks instead of running benchmarking apps.”

These allegations have been fiercely litigated since the 2014 filing. In 2015, Samsung secured a partial win on a dismissal bid. However, in 2017, the plaintiffs snagged a win when the Ninth Circuit affirmed a California federal court decision that the claims could not be forced into arbitration.

Later, in October 2018, Samsung won another partial win on their judgement bid. This February, Norcia motioned for Class certification. He aimed to represent a Class of Californians who purchased Galaxy S4 phones.

Instead of continuing with back and forth litigation, both parties have decided to settle the Samsung class action lawsuit.

Do you own a Samsung Galaxy S4? What do you think of this settlement? 

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

Plaintiffs and settlement Class Members are represented by Eduardo G. Roy, Daniel C. Quintero and John R. Hurley of Prometheus Partners LLP, and Alec Cierny of The Cierny Firm.

The Samsung Galaxy Class Action Lawsuit is Norcia v. Samsung Telecommunications America LLC, et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-00582, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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