Two major insurers want their money back from Samsung after a recalled electric range allegedly sparked a destructive fire at a Colorado home.
Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance Company and State Farm Fire and Casualty Company filed suit against Samsung Electronics America, Inc. on April 13, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The case, No. 1:26-cv-01548, targets a Samsung Model NE58F9500SS electric range that the insurers say was defectively designed - and that Samsung itself eventually recalled.
The story behind the lawsuit goes like this. On or about May 9, 2024, a fire tore through a property at 1760 Gypsum Creek Road in Gypsum, Colorado. The property, owned by SV Ranch, LLC, was leased to tenant Myrtle Frenz, who had left that morning with her four dogs still at the property. When Frenz returned hours later, she found the damage - and noticed that one of the range's front control knobs had been turned to the "on" position. Frenz suspects one of her dogs bumped the knob while she was out, inadvertently switching on a heating element that ignited nearby material.
According to the filing, that kind of accident was far from unforeseeable. The lawsuit points to Samsung's own website, where the company acknowledged that its ranges could be "activated unintentionally if sufficient force (pushing and turning) is applied, either by a person or pet in the household."
And the insurer-plaintiffs say Samsung knew about the risk long before this fire. The suit claims Samsung had received reports of essentially identical incidents dating back to 2013 - two years before the subject range was even manufactured. By the time of the Gypsum fire, the company had reportedly been made aware of more than 300 such reports, involving roughly 250 fires, 40 injuries, and 7 pet deaths. Samsung did not issue a recall until August 8, 2024, nearly three months after the fire. The corrective measures offered at that time, the suit contends, were feasible when the range was first manufactured and sold.
Both insurers paid out on claims filed by their respective policyholders - Farmers Alliance covering SV Ranch's real and personal property losses, and State Farm covering Frenz's personal property - and are now exercising their subrogation rights to pursue Samsung for recovery. The damages, described as stemming from fire, smoke, and water, are to be determined at trial.
The filing does not raise any coverage disputes or reference specific policy language between the carriers and their insureds. This is a straightforward subrogation play: two insurers chasing the party they say caused the loss.
No determination has been made on the merits, and Samsung has not yet responded. A jury trial has been requested.
