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Samsung Electronics America has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit by consumers claiming they are owed compensation on damages and fees stemming from the faulty Galaxy Note7 smartphone.
Filed Friday in New Jersey federal court, plaintiffs John Waudby, Robert Spuntak, and Mohamad Ibrahim claim they and other consumers were left without the safe use of smartphones that they had purchased while waiting for replacement Note7s to become locally available for exchange.
Waudby, a Nevada resident, who purchased a Note7 for roughly $850 on Aug. 21, 2016, says he incurred monthly device charges and monthly plan charges that have not been reimbursed through the Samsung recall program or other third parties.
Spuntak, a resident of Pennsylvania, and Ibrahim, a resident of California, echo the claims of Waudby in that they purchased Note7s and suffered damages as a result.
“As a result of Defendant’s actions, Plaintiffs have suffered economic damages, including but not limited to monthly charges and fees, loss of use of the Note7, substantial loss in value and resale value of their Note7s, and other related damage,” the lawsuit states.
Reports of Note7s overheating, catching fire and even exploding in the hands of consumers began to surface soon after the highly-anticipated device was released.
Accordingly, Samsung suspended sales and voluntarily recalled the defective devices, notifying consumers that they should immediately discontinue using the smartphones and exchange them for replacements.
Specifically, Samsung announced the U.S. Product Exchange Program for Note7 owners and stated that the new Galaxy Note7 would be “available next week.” The replacement program included an estimated one million phones in the United States and 2.5 million worldwide.
However, according to the proposed class action lawsuit, consumers who followed Samsung’s advice and discontinued using their Note7s were told Samsung did not have replacements smartphones available.
Instead, Samsung informed consumers that they would have to wait several days, and even weeks in many cases, before receiving a replacement smartphone.
Meanwhile, while waiting for Samsung to provide consumers with adequate replacements, consumers continued to incur monthly device and plan charges from their cellular carriers for phones they could not safely use.
Then, Samsung told consumers that the Note7 would be discontinued entirely, the plaintiffs say.
“Defendant made material statements and omissions concerning the availability of replacement Note7s. As a result, Plaintiffs and Class members were fraudulently induced to continue incurring and paying monthly charges and fees for their Note7s, which they could neither use nor replace,” the lawsuit reads.
As a result of Samsung’s actions, plaintiffs and the proposed Class have suffered injury in fact, incurred millions of dollars in fees, and have otherwise been harmed by Samsung’s conduct, the proposed class action lawsuit asserts.
The plaintiffs bring this action and seek recovery for Samsung’s alleged breach of express warranty, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and common law fraud.
Waudby, Spuntak and Ibrahim are seeking to represent a nationwide Class of all persons and entities in the United States who purchased or leased a Samsung Galaxy Note7, along with three subclasses in Nevada, Pennsylvania, and California.
The plaintiffs are represented by Joseph Sauder, Matthew Schelkopf, Joseph Kenney, Richard McCune, David Wright, and Emily Kirk of McCune Wright LLP.
The Samsung Galaxy Note7 Overheating Class Action Lawsuit is Waudby, et al. v. Samsung Electronics America Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-07334, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Newark Division.
UPDATE February 22, 2017: A federal judicial panel will decide if four Samsung class action lawsuits should be consolidated into multidistrict litigation. All four lawsuits allege that multiple Samsung smartphone models are prone to catching fire.
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53 thoughts onSamsung Galaxy Note7 Class Action Says Consumers Owed Restitution
I definitely want in on this. I am upset I didn’t want a s7 edge but I was forced to choose something I didn’t want because of this.
Sign me up. Second note 7 love it and don’t like the fact that you can only get a credit if you go for another Samsung phone.
How do you sign up for this?
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
How do I pay or my money back sign me up now
I bought through Verizon, I turned in my 75% paid off perfectly working Note4 for a note7. Now, Verizon is refusing to return my note4 and forcing me to buy a phone. so I bought the note 5 and returned it the next day because I was so sick to my stomach paying 800+ dollars for a phone I don’t want, I called samsung over 10 times and Verizon as well, they refused to help other than telling me they can give me 100 off buying a new phone, so i went to ebay and bought a note 4, I still have my note 7, I’m keeping it so Verizon doesn’t get reimbursed from Samsung until they reimburse me.. I don’t know who I am more discouraged with Samsung for making a mistake or Verizon not honoring my request to return my phone. I’m writing my attorney general, the FCC and the lawyers on this case, there is more than Samsung at fault.
I forunately did not have issuses with Sprint in the Dallas area. Although it was aggravating dealing with Samsung’s horrible customer service. I was not only able to resolve this mess, even though I have the s7 edge, I received immediate credits and I am do more on my next bill. But, with those having issues, go after your carrier as well. Of course they are trying to play the victim.
I just read an article yesterday, I cannot remember the online publication, but it stated that all customers that had the note 7 and downgraded will be eligible to get the s8, s8 edge or the note 8 at half the price and we can upgrade without any hassle. Just type in note 8 and the article will pop up. Wait, I believe it was Tech Radar. This is Samsung’s way of trying to keep the loyal customer base.
I have 2 note 7s my original and the replacement I received in the midst of them discontinuing the phone. I took both phones to sprint and they wanted my old note 5 back before they would trade the phones in. So I left with the 2 safety recalled phones went home grabbed the 5 went to a different store by my house oh no its an old galaxy s5 i upgraded 3 phones ago wtffff who cares we can figure it out later I guess my safety is not important to sprint I left again with both notes this was last saturday I got on twitter called them out they called me sunday but its now tuesday and my issue wont be fully resolved until friday as i message you all from my unsafe device:) sign me up
I have had 2 Note7’s my original and the replacement also 2 s7’s in between each i am currently still using my Note7 because I am getting the run around from Verizon regarding receipts for purchase of accessories for Note 7. I have ANOTHER s7 that i was given to use until iphone replacement arrives 11-30-16. Thank goodness it hasn’t caught on fire but it has been a frustrating mess! Also in this process I lost my very valuable upgrade and traded in a perfectly great Iphone6 plus that I wouldve just kept until next year! Again I am thankful it hasnt blown up but feel we need some sort of restitution for how much time and how many trips to Verizon in the past 2 months. Please include me!
Sign me up please