Nintendo sued over flimsy wrist straps
Nintendo of America is facing a class action lawsuit for the “defective nature of the Nintendo Wii wrist strap”. The class action lawsuit was taken out by Green Welling LLP in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Just how damaging will the strap fiasco become?
Nintendo has responded to the class action lawsuit by saying that it is “completely without merit”, according to a European report.
The lawsuit is not a surprising development considering the the real damage caused by flying controllers smashing into big-screen televisions and into the faces of bystanders, and it’s a move we foreshadowed on December 15.
According to Green Welling LLP, the class action lawsuit arose as result of the “defective nature of the … remote and wrist strap for the remote”.
Green Welling has said that the defective wrist strap is a breach of Nintendo’s own product warranty:
“Owners of the Nintendo Wii reported that when they used the Nintendo remote and wrist strap, as instructed by the material that accompanied the Wii console, the wrist strap broke and caused the remote to leave the user’s hand. Nintendo’s failure to include a remote that is free from defects is in breach of Nintendo’s own product warranty.”
The class action lawsuit seeks to enjoin Nintendo from continuing its unfair or deceptive business practices as it relates to the Nintendo Wii. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction that requires Nintendo to correct the defect in the Wii remote and to provide a refund to the purchaser or to replace the defective Wii remote with a Wii remote that functions as it is warranted and intended.
Nintendo is already replacing faulty wrist straps (click here), so it seems that the attorneys at Green Welling are digging for juicy cases where actual damage has been caused by the defective wrist strap, ie personal injury or damage to property. Otherwise there’s little point for Green Welling to be pursing this class action when Nintendo has already taken steps to replace`the wrist straps.
Is Green Welling just being opportunistic? Maybe, but if you’ve actually suffered personal injury by being hit in the head by a Wii remote, some compensation may be justifiable.
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December 21st, 2006
It’s funny that no-ones thought to sue car manufacturers yet since cars are crashing all the time and people get hurt. I mean afterall the fact they included airbags is a clear admission they are aware of the danger the product poses.
This is why the rest of the world laughs at America.
December 21st, 2006
you know the most basic flaw in this entire lawsuit would have to be the wording of it all ….
“the wrist strap broke and caused the remote to leave the user’s hand.”
”
I highly doubt that the wrist strap breaking would have caused the remote to leave someones hand. though I can see some people who arent privy to the wonders of common sense letting go of a remote which in turn causes the strap to break.
Im with nintendo on this one. “this case has absolutely no merit.”
December 21st, 2006
Please leave a comment on the law firm’s website if you think this is the most ridiculous law suit ever. http://www.classcounsel.com/contact.html
April 9th, 2010
I highly doubt that the wrist strap breaking would have caused the remote to leave someones hand. though I can see some people who arent privy to the wonders of common sense letting go of a remote which in turn causes the strap to break.