Another Samsung Class Action Lawsuit Says Phones Overheat, Explode

Yet another class action lawsuit hit the mobile phone company Samsung over allegations that the battery in various Samsung devices causes them to explode and burst into flames.

Plaintiff Dale Holzworth claims in his class action lawsuit that the lithium ion battery Samsung uses in its devices is defective and can cause overheating and explosions.

The infamous Samsung Note 7 mobile device was removed from the market for its exploding batteries, but, alleges the plaintiff, other Samsung devices use the same battery and are subject to the same problems.

“Samsung manufactures and sells smartphones which pose a threat to the safety of consumers. These dangers made international headlines when numerous Samsung Note 7 devices exploded and burst into flames leading to a complete recall of the product. Samsung has yet to determine the cause of the problems with the Note 7, and continues to sell, market, and distribute other smartphones which are at risk of overheating, fire and explosion. Samsung recalled the Note 7 while leaving other dangerous products in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the problem is not limited to the Note 7,” alleges the Samsung class action complaint.

The plaintiff alleges that he purchased a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge device and, although Samsung recalled the Note 7 devices famous for fiery explosions in 2016, the company failed to recall other devices that may be affected by the same problems.

According to the complaint, in 2016 the plaintiff’s Galaxy S7 Edge caught fire while it was charging in his son’s room. As a result, alleges the plaintiff, his son’s mattress and bed sheets caught fire and molten metal burned several holes in the carpet.

“Outside of the Note 7 recall, Samsung has taken no steps to recall or warn consumers about the risks of overheating, fire and explosion posed by their Subject Phones,” alleges the plaintiff.

According to the complaint, Samsung owners have been complaining about their devices overheating and catching fire since 2011; however, Samsung chose to increase battery power despite this knowledge. Samsung has failed to take complaints seriously and provide compensation beyond replacement with “similarly risky products,” alleges the plaintiff.

Further, says the class action lawsuit, Samsung has demonstrated it is aware of the overheating problem and has relied on unproven technology called “thermal spreading” to attempt to address the issue.

“According to Samsung, the thermal spreader it designed was ‘unlike conventional thermal spread technology,’” points out the plaintiff. “Samsung’s team responsible for designing the system further stated that ‘due to the spatial limits of smartphones, the cooling system’s cooling capacity alone is not enough to cool the device. We need to calculate the amount of electric current and optimize the heat control algorithm to minimize occurring heat. In other words, the new thermal spreader hardware controls the heat more effectively but the software heat-control algorithm must be made compatible to ensure best performance.’”

Samsung has also been hit with class actions in New York and California over allegations that other Samsung devices have caught fire, not just the Note 7.

According to Holzworth’s class action, Samsung encourages people to use their Samsung devices constantly and keep them on their person; however, this is dangerous and irresponsible, alleges the plaintiff, when the devices contain batteries known to overheat and potentially cause injury.

The plaintiff seeks to represent a Class of Massachusetts residents who purchased a Samsung S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, S6 Active, S7, S7 Edge, S7 Active, and Note 5. The plaintiff alleges Samsung is in violation of Massachusetts consumer protection laws and was unjustly enriched by selling phones with overheating batteries.

The plaintiff is seeking damages and disgorgement of profits by Samsung and an enjoinment against the use of the battery in Samsung devices.

The plaintiff is represented by Joseph J. Siprut, Todd L. McLawhorn and Ke Liu of Siprut PC, Niall P. McCarthy, Anne Marie Murphy and Eric J. Buescher of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP, and Gene Stonebarger, Richard Lambert and Crystal Kelly of Stonebarger Law APC.

This Samsung Smartphones Defective Battery Class Action Lawsuit is Dale Holzworth Sr. v. Samsung Electronics America Inc., et. al., Case No. 5:17-cv-02531, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.