Microsoft is the target of a new class-action lawsuit over its Fall Update for the Xbox 360, an update that caused "problems" on a small minority of systems. By "problems," of course, we mean "total system malfunction." Now, one California man is leading the legal charge against Microsoft after his own machine was "bricked" by the update.
According to a copy of the complaint seen by Ars Technica, Kevin Ray was a happy Xbox 360 player until November 1 of this year, at which point he updated his console with the Fall 2006 Update. After installation, his system was unusable, and Microsoft has allegedly refused to repair it unless Ray pays them $140. The class action, filed in a Washington federal court, seeks more than $5 million in damages and free repair of all Xbox 360s damaged by the update.
It's hard to say if the case will go anywhere. Microsoft source "Major Nelson" acknowledged a problem with the update on November 1, and promised in a blog posting that Microsoft would take care of those who have problems. He also indicated that the issue only affected a very few console owners. The lawyers for Ray dispute this, claiming that "a Google search of the terms 'xbox 360' and 'brick' or 'bricking' shows over 15,000 results," though this hardly seems like good legal evidence of widespread problems. The lawsuit does not name anyone else affected by the update.
Nothing new under the sun
Class-action lawsuits over Xbox 360 defects are nothing new. Microsoft was hit by one on December 2, 2005, only weeks after the console had launched. That lawsuit was filed in Illinois by Chicago resident Robert Byers, who claimed that the Xbox 360 was "known to Microsoft to contain a design defect." The unit allegedly ran too hot and routinely overheated.
Just like in the current case, lawyers filed the suit without any real evidence of extensive problems. The complaint merely noted that "vast and numerous complaints posted to numerous websites, blogs and threads all served to further confirm the existence of the Design Defect in all of Microsoft's Xbox 360 Game Consoles."
In a memorandum that moved for immediate dismissal of the case, Microsoft pointed out that he plaintiff's Xbox 360 was still within its 90-day warranty period, as was every Xbox 360 sold by that date. Furthermore, they noted that the lawsuit did not even claim that Byers had experienced any problems with his unit, and the company said that Byers had never contacted Microsoft about the problem. On March 29, 2006, Byers filed for voluntary dismissal of the case.
But the new complaint does allege that the plaintiff's console malfunctioned after its update, and Microsoft has admitted to the problem, making this new case potentially more serious.
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