Three consoles later, hard-luck Xbox user seeks solace in court |
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Three consoles later, hard-luck Xbox user seeks solace in court
Lawsuits over Microsoft's Xbox 360 hardware glitches are nothing new, and the company has acknowledged its past problems with a gigantic write-off and a warranty extension.
But the latest proposed class-action suit against the company stands out for the sheer run of misfortune alleged by the plaintiff, Michael McKinney of Hamilton County, Ohio. Even better, McKinney's lawyer is one Eric Deters -- better known around Northern Kentucky as "The Bulldog" -- who comes complete with his own theme music.
Now this should be interesting.
The suit (PDF, 8 pages) alleges that McKinney's problems began shortly after he received an Xbox 360 in December 2006. The console failed soon thereafter. It was still under warranty at that point, so it was replaced for free -- but that replacement console failed following the expiration of Microsoft's special three-year warranty, according to the suit. McKinney paid $100 for a repaired console, but the suit says that console failed, as well, after the additional one-year warranty expired -- requiring another $100 repair.
If you're keeping score at home, that would be three broken consoles. The suit doesn't say whether McKinney went ahead and paid for a fourth repair. (Update: As noted by Robin in the comments below, the timeline cited in the suit doesn't seem to add up. Microsoft's lawyers will no doubt have a field day with this one)
"An unknown Microsoft customer service representative stated to Plaintiff that this one hundred dollar payment would include a new one year warranty and that the Xbox was just a machine and Plaintiff should expect it to fail," the suit says. "To date, Plaintiff has expended thousands of dollars on Xbox hardware repairs, video games, memberships, videos, and downloadable content which cannot be utilized due to Microsoft’s defective Xbox console hardware."
The suit seeks class-action status and unspecified monetary damages.
Microsoft offered this statement in response: "While we haven’t been served with the complaint and therefore can’t comment on specifics of the case, the Xbox 360 provides an unparalleled gaming experience for millions of customers every day. Microsoft stands by its products, and we look forward to responding to the plaintiff’s complaint at the appropriate time."
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