Amazon facing $5 million lawsuit over Kindle “flaw”
When an owner of the second-generation Kindle reader reported a crack in the device’s screen, Amazon charged her $200 to repair it. But the problem may prove more costly for Amazon which is now facing a $5 million class action lawsuit.
Amazon has responded to the legal action by announcing it will waive the $200 fee for similar cases, apparently caused by a protective case the firm sells for an extra $30. That doesn’t appear enough to get rid of the court action, however.
The lawsuit is led by Seattle couple Matthew Geise and Alisa Brodowitz. He bought the device as a birthday gift for her. The couple say that shortly after she began using it, the device developed cracks on the screen at the points where the case is attached by metal clips. They say that when they complained, Amazon said the cracks were down to them opening the cover backwards and thus weren’t covered by the warranty, meaning they had to pay a repair fee.
The couple have now gone all-out with a lawsuit that, if approved as a class action, could cover anyone in the same situation. The action calls for Amazon to pay for refund, three times the actual damages caused, and all relevant legal fees.
The couple’s lawyer values the potential total damages as being more than $5 million and covers every owner of the Kindle 2 (and the latest DX model) who uses the Amazon protective cover. The true costs of such a judgment would probably be considerably less as the case would only cover those who’ve had the cracking problem and actually paid out for the repairs; at this stage only Amazon knows that number.
Today Amazon issued a statement to the Seattle Times saying:
We do not comment on active litigation. Nevertheless, we encourage anyone who has an issue with the cover-attachment mechanism to return the cover and device for a free replacement so we can investigate further.
The couple’s lawyer says she will continue pursuing the case. While the more cynical will believe dollar signs are flashing, she insists the problem needs a court approved solution to make sure every affected customer is dealt with.
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