Apple faces class action suits for flaws in iPod nano |
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Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:45
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SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Computer's iPod customers in Mexico and the U.K. are suing the company for alleged defective screens of the new iPod nano music players. A class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. district court for Northern California 4 November. Earlier, some U.S. customers who bought the system, had filed a similar suit 19 October in the San Jose district court.
The lawsuits charge Apple that it had ignored the flaws in the design of the screen of the music player while trying to hurry the nanos to the market. Apple had offered to replace the defective screens within weeks of its debut in September. The company claimed that the trouble of the screens cracking or getting scratches affected only a tenth of a per cent of the iPod nanos shipped.
The aggrieved users argue in their lawsuits that the defect is a result of a thin layer of resin that does not provide adequate protection from scratching and that the company ignored this while speeding up the product's shipment.
Lead attorney for both the suits, Steve Berman, said the second law suit was necessary as a result of a large number of international requests for inclusion in the first suit. He said the far-reaching response indicates that this is not just a small problem as claimed by the company, but a defect in the overall design that should have been rectified prior to the release.
One of the plaintiffs in the second suit, Ben Jennings of the U.K., said he bought his iPod nano in September and within a week the screen was so scratched it was hard to read.
The plaintiffs in both the suits claim damages, including the cost of the nano, punitive damages, attorney's fees and part of Apple's profits on the player.
Apple refused to comment, quoting the status of the lawsuits.
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