Camera Lens Covers on Samsung Phones ‘Spontaneously Shatter,’ Alleges Complaint

Various models of Samsung Galaxy smartphones have rear-camera glass lens covers that are prone to “spontaneously shatter within a few weeks of purchase,” alleged a complaint (in Pacer) filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The “defect is common” on Galaxy S7- and S8-series and Note 8 phones and is “known to Samsung, as Samsung has received countless complaints about it,” said the filing, which seeks class-action status. “But Samsung continues to hide this defect from consumers and has refused to repair it even when covered under its warranty.” That leaves consumers with devices “on which the camera -- an integral part of a smartphone’s functionality -- is unusable,” it said. The glass shatters “without any external force applied,” and does so “in a telltale circular pattern as if it had been shot out by a BB gun,” said the complaint. Consumers “have suffered injury in fact and incurred fees and costs” associated with the defect, it said. “Without a repair or a refund from Samsung, consumers are left with limited options. To replace one of these devices at retail price costs several hundred dollars.” Even if a consumer bought insurance on the defective phone, replacing it “requires paying a deductible that may be between $175 and $250,” it said. The complaint was reassigned Wednesday to a U.S. district judge in Oakland, California, after plaintiffs Lynette Pang and Timo Masalin declined (in Pacer) their consent to have the case go before a magistrate judge in San Francisco. Opting not to have a complaint heard before a magistrate judge is "common practice in these kinds of cases," Michael Woerner, a lawyer for Pang and Masalin, emailed us Wednesday. Samsung didn’t comment.