Illinois Man Files First Known Federal Complaint Over Samsung Galaxy Note7

Winnebago County, Illinois, resident Michael Taylor filed the first known federal complaint over the Galaxy Note7 when he alleged Samsung was negligent in shipping the smartphone it knew was susceptible to overheating and fire. Taylor suffered serious burns to his groin and legs when he plugged in his Note7 to recharge before going to bed the evening of Sept. 12 and woke up in the middle of the night to find the phone was “shooting flames,” said the complaint (in Pacer), filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Rockford, Illinois. Samsung sold the Note7 “in an unsafe, unsuitable, unreasonably dangerous and defective condition such that” the phone “had an unreasonable propensity to heat and catch fire during normal and foreseeable use,” said the complaint, which alleges negligence and violation of product liability laws. Samsung also violated Illinois consumer fraud laws because it engaged in “the deception of introducing a known dangerous product into the stream of commerce,” said the complaint, which included several photos depicting Taylor's injuries and damage to his mattress. Samsung didn’t comment Monday. Three days before Taylor alleges he plugged in his Note7 to recharge, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a well-publicized advisory warning to consumers to power down their Note7s and not recharge them and wait until an official recall notice was available (see 1609120044). The agency issued that recall notice Sept. 15 (see 1609150069).