Samsung electronic is being sued for selling the Samsung Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 even though they allegedly knew for years of a defect that caused displays to break, Bleeping computer reports.
The lawsuit has been filed by Tony McCoy out of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and claims that Samsung concealed the defect of the Chromebook and denied covering repair costs (reaching $350), even though the flaw affected numerous customers.
This device featured a Gorilla Glass 3 which Samsung said should be able to prevent the display from getting damaged easily. However, the reverse has been the case as most users report that the display gets damaged from everyday use. And it the built-in hinges is reportedly the cause of the frequent damage.
According to the complaint, Samsung customers affected by the problem were forced to cover the fixing costs for replacing both the impacted hinge assembly and the screen, as Samsung placed the fault on them for improper use.
“When consumers seek relief pursuant to the warranty, Samsung typically declines to repair or replace the Class Devices or refund their purchase price. Instead, Samsung classifies the problems caused by the Defect as the result of “misuse”—as Plaintiff was told, “opening and closing the laptop too much”—or other user error or accident. Defendant takes this approach to avoid responsibility and the costs associated with honoring their warranty.” – Tony McCoy vs. Samsung Electronics America, Inc. complaint.
Even if the hinge is replaced, Samsung allegedly uses the same defective spare part, so the screen-cracking issue is set to re-occur in a couple of months.
The lawsuit claims that due to the widespread complaints about the problem, Samsung should have known about the issue by August 2021, when the defect cracked the screen of Plaintiff’s Chromebook.
“Defendant willfully, falsely, and knowingly omitted various material facts regarding the quality, character, and abilities of the Class Devices. Rather than disclose the Defect to Plaintiff and other prospective purchasers of Class Devices, Defendant concealed the Defect,” reads the complaint.
After McCoy’s display cracked, his wife filed a formal complaint with Samsung’s customer service team and spent many hours speaking with representatives in the following days but to no avail.
After the issue was escalated to a customer support supervisor, her concerns were dismissed, and was told the damage was caused by “opening and closing the laptop too much.”
McCoy’s class-action lawsuit demands a trial by jury and seeks monetary relief through an order awarding actual, statutory, punitive, treble, and any other form of damages and/or equitable relief, as well as judiciary costs.
The causes of action presented in the motion are the following:
- Violation of the Magnusson-Moss warranty act
- Breach of the implied warranty of merchantability
- Violation of the Oklahoma deceptive trade practices act
- Violation of the deception prong of the OCPA
- Violation of the unfair prong of the OCPA
- Unjust enrichment
- Fraudulent omission or concealment
Finally, the lawsuit seeks an order to compel Samsung to disclose and remediate the hinge defect adequately.
