Samsung Can’t Enforce Arbitration Over Exploding Smartphone

Samsung Electronics Co. can’t stave off a lawsuit over a Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone that exploded and burned a California man, the Ninth Circuit ruled.

The company can’t force Daniel Ramirez to pursue arbitration under the terms of an agreement in a phone’s packaging, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said.

The booklet containing the terms and conditions and the smartphone packaging’s vague reference to terms and conditions aren’t enough to put a reasonable consumer on notice of the arbitration provision that Samsung seeks to enforce, the court said, affirming a federal trial court ruling.

Ramirez filed ...