Samsung's Note 7 fallout keeps expanding, as a possible class action lawsuit looms against the company, after three former Note 7 owners in the U.S. joined ranks to take the OEM to court.
The news lands only a week after the company pulled the plug on the manufacturing of the handset, a decision determined by mounting numbers of devices that overheat and burst into flames.
The lawsuit, which needs a judge's approval before starting, is interestingly not connected to damages or injuries caused by the flammable phone. The plaintiffs are suing Samsung for how it managed the recall, which they claim caused them to go without a smartphone for several weeks. What is more, the plaintiffs accuse Samsung of charging them for the device and plan charges.
On Sept. 9, a joint statement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Samsung urged owners of the smartphone to stop using it, citing safety concerns. The suit reads that Samsung waited until Sept. 21 to roll out replacement phones. As a dire reminder, a number of the exchange handsets were faulty as well.
According to the legal action, Samsung told customers that they must wait between "several days and weeks" for a replacement device. The plaintiffs add that during the waiting time, Samsung continued to tax them for the phones and cellular carrier plans, despite both being unavailable to the clients.
Richard McCune, one of the lawyers who is on the case, confirmed that "the loss that the case is focused on" consists in the continuing payments for data and voice plans.
At the time of writing, Samsung did not make any official commentary about the proposed lawsuit.
Such legal hurdles will only burden the OEM even more, after the Note 7 debacle eroded its prestige. Not only did Samsung's reputation suffer, but the company is expecting to see massive losses north of $1 billion in the following months.
When Galaxy Note 7 first landed this August, it was greeted with good reviews and high consumer enthusiasm. However, the honey moon period for the device ended abruptly as more reports surfaced showing that the smartphone is prone to overheating and even going full fiery.
Despite the company's sustained efforts for damage control, it was clear that the replacement units also suffered from identical or similarly annoying problems as the original phones.
Should you be curious to read the full suit, head to Motherboard, which reported on it first.
