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Samsung in the News

By Nick Verderame | January 23, 2017

Samsung is making news for a couple reasons today.  First, according to the Washington Post, Samsung is expected to present causes of the Galaxy Note 7 fires today.  The Galaxy Note 7, as you likely know, is no longer allowed on airplanes or cruise ships because the phones have a tendency to explode or spontaneously light on fire.  These issues have caused several injuries, and continue to pose a public risk.  If you or someone you know has been injured by a Galaxy Note 7, please do not hesitate to contact Plattner Verderame PC.

Additionally, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Samsung’s effort to compel arbitration with consumers.  The Plaintiff in the case, a consumer alleging that the company made misrepresentations about its Galaxy S4, argued that Samsung’s attempt to force the case out of court and into arbitration was illegal.  Samsung argued that warranty sheets inside the phone’s box had arbitration agreements and therefore stripped the Plaintiff’s access to a courtroom.  Samsung is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of the United States.  Arbitration clauses are clauses that limit individuals Constitutional Right to a trial.  They are often stuck in the middle of large, illegible contracts by huge corporations.  Corporations prefer arbitration because it can be more expensive, thus limiting consumer’s ability to protect themselves.  Moreover, arbitration panels are often pro-business, thus the consumer’s often lose the cases.  The battle over arbitration clauses centers on whether companies can force you to agree to a contract that forces arbitration (“sign here or we won’t sell you this phone”), and thus eliminates the right created by the 7th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

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