Amazon faces $5m lawsuit over cracked Kindles
updated 02:55 pm EDT, Wed July 15, 2009
Kindles cracking, $5m suit
A lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against Amazon by Matthew Geise, an executive director for a property management firm in Seattle. Geise bought Amazon's $359 Kindle 2 e-book reader and a $30 protective screen cover and noticed, some three months later, that the Kindle began cracking around the points where the official cover attached to the device with metal clips. These cracks grew to the point where the device stopped working, and now, Amazon is facing a class action lawsuit larger than $5 million.
A warranty claim made to Amazon on July 7th by Geise reportedly resulted in Amazon agreeing to cover the frozen screen but not the cracks, arguing they were caused by the improper opening of the cover. This was not the case, Geise's wife contends. Geise was told he would have to pay $200 for the repairs, which is a new policy for the company.
Amazon's review section is also filled with user complaints about the official Kindle accessory.
"Amazon has been horrible about helping with this issue," read one comment. "If an accessory is purchased to PROTECT the product, the company should certainly be liable if it is the cause of the damage." [via SeattleTimes]
