Among the many products put out by Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. are electric and gas ranges, some of which have a defect that is the subject of this class action. The complaint alleges that the burner control knobs on the front of the ranges, which purportedly must be pushed in and turned to turn the ranges on, instead are able to activate the burners when very little force is applied, for example, if a person simply brushes against them.
The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons who, during the applicable statute of limitations, bought one or more Samsung range from the Samsung companies or their authorized retailer sellers.
According to the complaint, burner control knobs are supposed to be pushed in and turned to activate the burners or the oven: “The use of this ‘two-factor mechanism’ for activating a burner (i.e. pushing in and turning on the knob) is not arbitrary. It is an important safety feature required by international standards.”
The complaint reproduces a portion of a User Manual for Samsung gas and electric ranges showing that these dual motions should take place in order to activate the ranges. However, the complaint alleges that the burners and over can be turned on accidentally, with very little pressure.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received “numerous” reports of the defective controls, the complaint alleges, and it quotes from several of them, including the following:
“The control knobs are in front of the stove and are super sensitive. The consumer has leaned against the stove while cooking or cleaning the range and unknowingly found the burners on.”
“On 5 different occasion[s] my range has turned on and started fires. … My shirt touched the oven controls while cooking and turned the oven on. My kitten has been jumping on the stove and turning the knobs starting the fire. … The last 2 fires have happened during the night and [we] have been woken up to the smoke detectors going off.”
“I’ve had to keep my dog away from the stove so he doesn’t accidentally turn on the heating elements. So far he has turned on the self-clean feature, the timer, and the glass top warming element.”
Samsung knows about the problem, the complaint alleges, and has gone so far as to acknowledge the problem on its website, on a webpage with the title, “Range knobs accidentally turn on cooktop too easily[.]” The complaint quotes it as saying, “Although our ranges and some of our cooktops come with a Child Lock feature, this will not prevent the knobs from turning on the cooktop. This can be particularly dangerous with gas cooktops.”
The complaint claims that the ranges are therefore dangerous when they leave the warehouse, and that Samsung has not come up with a fix or offered customers replacement ranges or refunds.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: News
Most Recent Case Event
Samsung Range Knobs Too Easily Turned On Complaint
October 28, 2022
Among the many products put out by Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. are electric and gas ranges, some of which have a defect that is the subject of this class action. The complaint alleges that the burner control knobs on the front of the ranges, which purportedly must be pushed in and turned to turn the ranges on, instead are able to activate the burners when very little force is applied, for example, if a person simply brushes against them.
Samsung Range Knobs Too Easily Turned On ComplaintCase Event History
Samsung Range Knobs Too Easily Turned On Complaint
October 28, 2022
Among the many products put out by Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. are electric and gas ranges, some of which have a defect that is the subject of this class action. The complaint alleges that the burner control knobs on the front of the ranges, which purportedly must be pushed in and turned to turn the ranges on, instead are able to activate the burners when very little force is applied, for example, if a person simply brushes against them.
Samsung Range Knobs Too Easily Turned On Complaint