Samsung is facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly using defective rear-camera glass on the Galaxy S20 series. The lawsuit claims that the defective camera glass tends to shatter unexpectedly during everyday use.
The lawsuit has been filed against Samsung in the US District Court of New Jersey. It accuses Samsung of fraud and violating many consumer-protection laws.
Owners Claim Samsung Used Defective Rear Camera Glass
Hundreds of Galaxy S20 owners have reported of the rear-camera glass on their device spontaneously cracking without any external cause or drops and dings. If these reports are to be believed, this issue potentially affects all variants of the Galaxy S20 lineup, including the Galaxy S20 Ultra, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 FE.
The lawsuit from plaintiff Hagens Berman alleges that some older smartphones like the Galaxy S7 and LG V20 also had a similar issue.
The lawsuit shares numerous complaints from Galaxy S20 owners posted on online forums to prove that this was a widespread issue. It alleges that Samsung deleted complaints from consumers on its online forum about this issue, including an open letter.
The lawsuit highlights that a Samsung Care Ambassador who knew about the issue allegedly identified the cause to be "pressure buildup underneath the glass and not customers banging it against something." Despite this post from a Samsung Care Ambassador, the company never initiated a recall and continued denying warranty claims to affected customers.
Samsung Allegedly Charged Customers $400 for Repairs
Ideally, Samsung should have repaired the affected devices under the standard one-year warranty. However, the company allegedly blamed customers for their "broken phones," leaving them with no other choice but to pay for the repair from their pocket. Affected customers were also allegedly charged a steep $400 for the repair. Customers who had Samsung Care+ were required to pay $100 as a deductible instead of $400 for the repair.
The lawsuit further accuses Samsung of replacing a defective Galaxy S20 with another defective unit. It states that Samsung "continues to conceal" the fact that the Galaxy S20 has defective rear-camera glass and continues to sell it.
The class-action lawsuit seeks "reimbursement and/or compensation of the full purchase price of all shattered products" along with compensation for "loss of value" and other damages.
If you own a Galaxy S20 phone whose camera glass has cracked spontaneously and want to take part in the class-action lawsuit, you can fill in the Galaxy S20 broken camera glass form to get involved.