Samsung is being sued by US law firm over Galaxy Note7 recall

It was bound to happen and now it has indeed. US law firm McCuneWright has filed a lawsuit against Samsung over the Galaxy Note7 recall. The plaintiffs claim the recall has left them without phones for weeks. They seek reimbursement of cell phone service fees and are also look for class-action status. According to a post by McCuneWright on its site, “While Samsung has offered consumers replacement phones or a refund, it has failed to reimburse consumers for monthly costs associated with owning an unusable Note7.” CNET reached out to Samsung and they said they won’t comment on pending litigation.

20th Century Fox files case against Netflix for employee poaching

With Netflix’s growing business posing a threat to the more traditional studios, it looks like one of them isn’t taking that lying down. 20^th Century Fox has filed a lawsuit against the streaming service for luring away employees who are still under contract and persuading them to break their contracts to work for Netflix. The cases specifically stated were recent hires of programming executive Tara Flynn and marketing executive Marcos Waltenberg.

Both companies have issued statements regarding the case. According to Fox, "We filed this lawsuit because we believe Netflix is defiantly flouting the law by soliciting and inducing employees to break their contracts. We intend to seek all available remedies to enforce our rights and hold Netflix accountable for its wrongful behavior.” Meanwhile, Netflix says, "We intend to defend this lawsuit vigorously. We do not believe Fox's use of fixed term employment contracts in this manner are enforceable. We believe in employee mobility and will fight for the right to hire great colleagues no matter where they work."

 Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Florida-based man sues over the Samsung Galaxy Note7 reportedly exploding in his pocket

This case might be the first time a Samsung phone user in the US has filed against Samsung over the battery defect of the Galaxy Note7. Samsung Electronics is being sued in the US by Jonathan Strobel for severe burns he said he experienced after the Galaxy Note7 exploded in his front pants pocket. The Boca Raton, Florida-based man filed the case against Samsung the day after Samsung recalled around 1 million Note 7s sold in the US. Strobel said he was at a Costco store in Palm Beach Gardens on September 9 when the phone exploded and the phone burned directly through his pants, resulting in severe burns on his right leg as well as his left thumb since he reached over to remove the device. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for medical bills, pain and suffering, other alleged injuries, and lost wages.

According to US safety regulators, Samsung has received 92 reports of batteries overheating in the country, including 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage. "We don't comment on pending litigation," Samsung spokeswoman Danielle Meister Cohen said in an email to Reuters. "We are urging all Note 7 owners to power their device down and exchange it immediately." Here’s a link to how Samsung Canada is facilitating the recall locally.

Source: Reuters

Big media companies sue FBI for keeping San Bernardino iPhone exploit details a secret

Looks like the FBI vs. Apple saga isn’t over. This time, though, the FBI will be going against big media companies like The Associated Press, Gannett (the parent company of USA Today), and Vice Media. These companies filed a freedom of information lawsuit against the bureau to compel them to share information on how it was able to hack the iPhone 5c, which was used in the San Bernardino case, and who hacked it. According to the filing, this poses a “serious undisclosed security vulnerability” in one of the most popular consumer products in the world. The news organizations say Apple should be informed on how the hack was accomplished to help fix the flaw and prevent the many iPhone users from being hacked.

The group also claims this incident brings up questions regarding allocation of public funds, governmental oversight issues, and whether FBI has any legal basis for keeping the information (the organizations claim they don’t).  

Source: Digital Trends