Samsung “Black Stainless Steel” Appliances Peeling Coating Class Action

Kitchen appliances like refrigerators, ranges, ovens, dishwashers, and microwaves are sold in various colors and outer materials. The complaint for this class action takes issue with certain “fingerprint resistant,” “black stainless steel” appliances sold by Samsung Electronics of America, Inc. The complaint alleges that these items are not really fronted with black stainless steel but with “regular stainless steel with a cheap coating that in a matter of months flakes off, leaving consumers with an unsightly patchwork of regular stainless steel against the yet-to-peel-off black stainless steel…”

The National Class for this action is all persons in the US who bought or otherwise acquired a Samsung-branded appliance during the fullest period allowed by the law, which was advertised as “fingerprint resistant” or “black stainless steel.” A California Subclass has also been defined for persons in the above class in California.

According to the complaint, the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors sets the useful lives of kitchen appliances at between nine and seventeen years, based on its research and testing. Refrigerators, for example, are expected to have a useful life of between nine and thirteen years.

Consumers Reports, the complaint alleges, “has said that according to its survey most consumers expect that new major appliances will last 10 years[.]” It quotes the company as saying, “Manufacturers tend to agree. We asked makers of more than 20 brands, and most say their appliances should last about 10 years.”

The complaint alleges, “‘Black stainless steel’ is understood by reasonable consumers to describe a permanent characteristic of the appliance: that it will be black stainless steel for the useful life of the appliances. Moreover, reasonable consumers understand that ‘fingerprint resistant’ similarly describes a permanent characteristic of the product, and that if it does now, they reasonably expect the description to be expressly qualified.”

The complaint quotes consumer postings complaining about the flaking finish from the Samsung and Best Buy websites.

The complaint alleges that Samsung prices black stainless-steel appliances at a premium to normal stainless-steel appliances. The complaint shows a chart comparing various Samsung kitchen appliances in the two different finishes, which shows that the black stainless-steel items are priced from $50 to $100 higher.

Yet, it claims, “Samsung has known of these defects before it started to market its ‘fingerprint resistant’ ‘black stainless steel’ kitchen appliances, but has chosen not to disclose to consumers that the black coating on its appliances peels off after a few months of use…”

What’s Samsung’s response? The complaint alleges, “Samsung has deliberately decided to ignore these complaints alleging that they relate to cosmetic issues, and has adopted a policy denying warranty service to its customers that complaint about the peeling off of the fingerprint resistant coating.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Defective Home Appliance, Finish Paint or Coating