PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh hair salon that sustained fire damage allegedly as a result of a malfunctioning laundry dryer has sued the dryer’s manufacturer for financial damages related to the incident.
Verve Wellness, LLC filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on June 3 versus Samsung Electronics America, Inc., of Ridgeville Park, N.J.
Verve Wellness says it ordered the subject dryer from Lowe’s Home Improvement in April 2015 and received the dryer the following month, which it used from that point to November 2017, in order to dry wash towels used in the ordinary course of business.
“On Nov. 18, 2017, an employee of Verve placed washed towels in the subject dryer, closed the subject dryer’s door, activated the subject dryer and then left the salon for the evening. At approximately 2 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2017, an employee of Olive or Twist, the business adjacent to the salon, smelled smoke coming from an unknown source and entered the first floor of the salon to see if a curling iron was left on,” according to the lawsuit.
“At approximately 6 a.m., a member of the cleaning crew at Olive or Twist called the Pittsburgh Fire Department. Shortly thereafter, the Pittsburgh Fire Department arrived at the scene. Because no smoke or fire was discovered on the first or second floor of the salon, the Pittsburgh Fire Department then left the scene before inspecting the third floor, where the subject dryer was located.”
On the morning of Nov. 19, 2017, Emma Vestovich and Aimee K. Davis, both employees of Verve, entered the salon to begin their shifts. Upon entering the salon, the employees immediately noticed a strong smell of smoke emanating from the upper floor. Both women then ascended to the upper floor and discovered that the smell was coming from the subject dryer, which was still running from the previous night, the suit says.
After shutting off and opening the subject dryer, a fire erupted within it and the employees contacted the Pittsburgh Fire Department. The department returned to the salon and extinguished the fire, but both the fire and response to it caused severe damage to the salon and Verve was forced to close its business for 74 days. As a result, Verve says it lost clients to its local competitors and other sources.
“Subsequent to the fire, inspections of the subject dryer were conducted by various third parties, but not by plaintiffs. The inspectors all confirmed that the fire originated in the subject dryer, but could not determine the cause of the fire. Had the inspectors known that subject dryer had failed to shut off at the end of its last cycle, which they did not, they likely would have determined that an inherent defect of the subject dryer caused the fire,” the suit says.
After completing its inspection, the inspector for Verve’s insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, destroyed the subject dryer without Verve’s permission and unbeknownst to Verve.
For multiple counts of malfunction theory and failure to warn, the plaintiff is seeking damages for an amount in excess of the arbitration limit, plus any and all further relief which the Court deems just and proper.
The plaintiff is represented by Brad N. Sommer and Brett R. Powers of Sommer Law Group, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant has not yet secured legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-20-006407
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com