It’s been two years since the the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recalls and the company has been working hard to reclaim consumer confidence in the series ever since. That may now be in jeopardy after a woman in the U.S. has claimed that her Galaxy Note 9 caught fire inside her purse. She is now suing Samsung to cease further sales of the phone.
According to the New York Post, the incident accorded on September 3 and involved Long Island real estate agent Diane Chung.
According to court papers, Ms. Chung was reportedly in the elevator of her building when she found that her Note 9 became “extremely hot” so she ceased using the phone and placed it inside her purse. She then allegedly “…heard a whistling and screeching sound, and she noticed thick smoke” come from the purse.
After putting the purse on the floor and attempting to empty it, Ms. Chung apparently burnt her fingers whilst trying to grab the smoking phone. Panicking, Ms. Chung says that she dropped ther phone and proceeded to smash the buttons of the elevator through the smoke. Once reaching the lobby she kicked the phone from the elevator.
According to the claim made by Ms. Chung in the Queens Supreme Court lawsuit, the Galaxy Note 9 apparently continued to burn until a “good samaritan” picked it up with a cloth and put it in a bucket of water.
Ms. Chung has now filed a lawsuit against Samsung for unspecified damages and is asking for a ban on further sales of the Galaxy Note 9.
This incident occured only ten days after the Galaxy Note 9 series went on sale on August 24. Ahead of the phone’s launch the CEO of Samsung’s mobile division DJ Koh stated that, “The battery in the Galaxy Note 9 is safer than ever. Users do not have to worry about the batteries anymore.”
A Samsung spokesperson responded to the New York Post, saying “We have not received any reports of similar incidents involving a Galaxy Note 9 device and we are investigating the matter.”
We have reached out to Samsung Australia for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
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