Hinge assembly for a home appliance and method of assembling

A hinge assembly for coupling a door with a cabinet for movement between open and closed positions about a vertical axis, wherein said hinge assembly comprises:

• a first hinge plate configured to be coupled with said cabinet;
• a second hinge plate configured to be coupled with said door and moveable relative to the first hinge plate about a pivot pin extending between the first and second hinge plates, wherein one of the first hinge plate and the second hinge plate comprises a step including a linear wall portion and an arcuate socket portion and that together extend across a width of the first hinge plate, the step having a first surface vertically offset from a body of one of the first hinge plate and the second hinge plate and the other of the first hinge plate and the second hinge plate comprises a second surface that engages the first surface when said door is in the closed position, and wherein said hinge assembly is configured such that when said door is moved into the open position, the second hinge plate travels downward relative to the first hinge plate such that the first surface becomes disengaged from the second surface;
• and
• a third hinge plate disposed between the first hinge plate and the second hinge plate, the third hinge plate including a projection extending from the third hinge plate in a direction co-planar with a planar extent of the third hinge plate.