LG Vs. Samsung: Electronics Giants Sue Each Other Over Damaged Washing Machine

Electronics companies often spend time disparaging rivals in court for infringement claims, but this case went straight to the spin cycle. An LG Electronics executive was indicted in a South Korean court for property damages and defamation for allegedly wrecking a Samsung washing machine at a popular trade show last year. Now, LG has come forward with a video it claims shows that the executive was not damaging the appliance, but rather "testing" it for sturdiness.

In its lawsuit, Samsung alleged that LG’s executive was "secretly sabotaging" the appliance. However, LG has since countersued, claiming defamation and evidence tampering on Samsung’s part, and plans to use its video as proof.

LG shared a video on YouTube Sunday, which shows Jo Seong-jin, head of LG's Home Appliance and Air Solution Company, at the 2014 IFA trade show in Berlin performing a series of "tests" on the Samsung washer that LG says are standard for engineers, according to Cnet. LG also says that Jo tested other appliances in full view of Samsung employees, who did not stop him. Additionally, other nonindustry tradeshow attendees performed tests on the appliances, including one child who sat on the door of the machine.

Samsung said in a statement that the video has been "arbitrarily edited" to match LG’s claim. "The prosecution has already sufficiently examined the entire video, not the edited version, and has determined that there is enough suspicion of willfully damaging, so we have decided that just because LG Electronics posted a video it would be inappropriate for us to release the entire video as tit-for-tat," a Samsung spokesman said.

Samsung claims that its employees on the IFA showroom floor were unable to stop Jo from damaging the washing machine because they were not looking in his direction as he beat up the appliance; otherwise they would have given him a warning.