Wiimote Straps Result in Class Action Suit

Kotaku reports the news that problems with breaking Wiimote straps has resulted in a class action lawsuit against Nintendo. From the press release about the suit: "Green Welling LLP filed a nationwide class action lawsuit on behalf of the owners of the Nintendo Wii against Nintendo of America, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The class action lawsuit arose as result of the defective nature of the Nintendo Wii. In particular, the Nintendo Wii game console includes a remote and a wrist strap for the remote. Owners of the Nintendo Wii reported that when they used the Nintendo remote and wrist strap, as instructed by the material that accompanied the Wii console, the wrist strap broke and caused the remote to leave the user's hand. Nintendo's failure to include a remote that is free from defects is in breach of Nintendo's own product warranty."

Wait...

[Aadain2001]

Didn't I read recently that Nintendo was issuing a massive recall/replacement program to replace the straps on all the Wiimotes? How can you sue a company who is completely willing to fix the problem is a very timely manor (1 month)? Or is this lawyer just a greedy bastard?

Web Site of Lawyers

[MyLongNickName]

Want to share your thoughts on the validity of this suit? Click here [classcounsel.com]

Re:A defect?

[revlayle]

I think people who were not really watching what they were doing broker their TV and want someone else to pay for it. While a handful of the owners may be completely deserving of some compensation, I bet a good portion of those in the class action are in it for the "i'm a tard and i want someone else to fix my dumbiness" - whether it's true or not, i have no idea.

Disgusting

[Deluxe_247]

Wow, I feel like someone just puked their hands and rubbed it all over my body. This is absolutly rediculous.

Nintendo adds a wrist strap as a safety feature, so stupid people who have 'grip' problems (small peens perhaps?) don't throw the Wiimote around. A group of morons (ok ok, maybe they were drunk and ... how did NPR put it?... overzealous?) break a few TVs, and now all of a sudden Nintendo is libel for a defective console?

Yea, great. Im sure this is REALLY going to make Nintendo warm to us Americans. You wonder why they don't port a lot of games over to the US, and you wonder why in some games prior to the port they 'dumb it down' thinking its 'too hard for westerners.' (I wish I could find the article that I got this information from.. I thought it was BS at the time, but now Im thinking it might have been credible.)

Nintendo comes out of left field with a great console, thats tons of fun for all ages... And some douchebags who are looking to make a quick buck want to file a lawsuit against them for breaking a WRIST STRAP which didnt' even need to be added in the first place?

wiihaveaproblem.com - 29 broken straps out of... 1million+ consoles (probably near double that in controllers)
wiidamage.com - 3 broken straps reported

I love the US, but sometimes I just have a hard time being 'proud to be an American.'

(I reserve the right to not check my spelling or grammar. Deal with it!)

Re:Not quite right

[mypalmike]

Believe it or not, most of the time, the lawyer advise for a lower settlement simply because most of the time the case isn't big enough to justify a big settlement (talking about $100,000+ here).

We're not talking about an individual slipping on the ice at Walmart here. This is a large class action lawsuit. And the class size isn't the number of people who actually express interest in the suit, it's the number of people affected according to record. Let's see, 1 million Wii consoles times, say, $30 per controller plus "damages" and interest. Let me see. Carry the two, add 3... Divide by 10. Well, it comes out to "big settlement".

also, greedy lawyer is hardly right, the lawyer really gets a SMALL fraction of the settlement.

In class action suits of this size, 25% is the typical cut. I'd hardly call that "SMALL". The class members will get a coupon for a new controller plus a game maybe. Once you divide out billable hours, the lawyers often end up with thousands of dollars per hour.

I know a few lawyers. The one who works class action cases lives in a Beverly Hills mansion.

Re:Ummm...No

[LordKronos]

Those aren't the best examples, because at some point you ARE expected to let go of a bowling ball or baseball.

A better, much more accurate comparison would be a ping pong (table tennis) paddle. It's very similar to a Wiimote in size/weight, how you hold it, how you flail it around as part of normal usage, that it's used in your home, and in the amount of damage that it can cause. Of course, many of those have grip tape wrapped around the handle, but certainly not all of them. And almost none of them that I've seen have any sort of wrist strap.

So, I wonder if a manufacturer has ever been sued over one of those? Wait....oh crap. I probably just gave a lawyer somewhere an idea.

Re:Web Site of Lawyers

[Anonymous Coward]

I also posted a comment...

Please provide us with the name of company that you are complaining about:

Green Welling LLP

Please describe your situation or problem:

I have an issue with the current legal environment, the one that allows you to file frivolous lawsuits on the behalf of moronic "clients" who are unable to read the instruction manual correctly and cause damage to themselves or their property.

Nintendo has already announced a free replacement for anyone who currently owns a Wii that does not have the upgraded wrist strap. Instead of allowing them to correct an issue, one brought on by people wildly flinging their Wiimotes in a manner they were never designed to withstand, you feel the need to exploit Nintendo for your own personal gain.

Legal groups like yours are a cancer in the heart and mind of America. You exploit the technological naivete of judges and juries around this country to exploit profitable companies to line your own pockets.

Remember this, aside from those few who have profited from your shameless exploitation, you and your ilk are despised by a large majority of this country.

Never will it be said that this country was built on the sacrifices of it's lawyers. Instead it will be said that while it was built by the sacrifices of the brave and proud who truly love this country, it was brought to it's knees by the exploitations of the few who place personal gain over the good of the people.

Please provide us with the search terms you used to find our Web site:

Scumbag, explotive lawers.

Where does it end, you ask?

[Skye16]

It ends where we drag these people out of their houses and lynch them with their own intestines. As for when it ends - well. I hope sometime soon.

I have owned a Wii since the UK Launch

[TAZ6416]

Played it a few hours a night since then, sometimes with friends, several times drunk. And how many straps have we broke? None. We have done this by HOLDING ON TIGHT TO THE FRIGGING REMOTE. Jesus weep, I can't believe how stupid some people are, although the greediness of lawyers isn't a shock.

I have however fell on my arse while playing Baseball because I was stupid enough to stand on our wooden floor in just socks, but you don't see me suing my wooden floor company, or the blokes who make my socks.

Jonathan

Re:If only stupidity were illegal

[Dirtside]

Like driving around bumpy roads with a hot cup of coffee between your legs?

I assume you're referring to the classic McDonald's coffee case, Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants [wikipedia.org], where a woman had a cup of McDonald's coffee in her lap and got scalded by it when it spilled.

1. The car was sitting still.
2. The cup spilled when she tried to pry off the top while the car was sitting still.
3. She was in the passenger seat; she was not the driver.

Whether or not the case had any merit one way or the other, I really wish people would stop repeating incorrect facts about that case. I'm no fan of frivolous lawsuits either, but can we at least use examples of actually frivolous lawsuits?

Re:If only stupidity were illegal

[Samus]

The only advantage that I have seen is in Wii Sports Baseball. The manual says that the faster you "throw" the remote, the faster the pitch will go. I've noticed this to some small extent. That said, I have two boys ages 4 & 6 and never have the controllers left their hands when they are playing. My 4 year old is especially "active" and the only problem I've had is him creeping up to the TV during boxing.

Re:Wait...

[Anonymous Coward]

Except you don't drink it while its still boiling: you let it cool down. When being served coffee by an establishment you expect at the very least that the coffee has cooled down to the point you can drink it relatively soon. You do NOT expect for them to hand you a cup of boiling water that would give you third degree burns. Thus the idea of "negligence" comes in for them not telling you "Hey don't spill that, it will burn you so bad it'll kill your nerve endings (third-degree burn)" when the expectation is at the very most served coffee will give you a first-degree burn if that.

True, you aren't expecting boiling hot coffee. However, even if your coffee is 30-40 degrees cooler that the lowest ideal brewing temperature, you will still get a severe burn from less than 2 seconds of skin exposier to the liquid. It is a hot beverage. You can't reasonably expect to not get a burn if it is fresh and you dump it on yourself.

Re:absolutely retarded

[GweeDo]

You can email them at: [e-mail]

I sent the following:
The lawsuit that you are trying to bring against Nintendo for people that can't figure how to hold onto a remote controller is appalling. You are a perfect example of why people dislike lawyers. Nintendo has created a device that when used properly is no harm to anyone at all and won't break. The moment people opt to use it incorrectly things might go wrong. If I throw my DVD remote at you and it injures you should we be suing Sanyo? Beyond the fact that Nintendo has created a perfectly safe device, they are even going out of their way to make people happy by offering a completely free and timely replacement program to have stronger straps for people that don't understand you don't throw a remote at your dog/TV/grandma.

Again, you decision to try and pursue this just shows why people enjoy lawyer jokes so much, it is because in cases like this, they are simply true.

-Nathan

Re:If only stupidity were illegal

[Lane.exe]

OK, this requires a brief explanation of what the "products liability" area of law entails. It falls within an area known as "strict liability." This means that if you place a defectively designed, defectively manufactured, or defectively marketed product in the stream of commerce, you are liable regardless of whose "fault" it is. The reasons advanced for this are many, but mainly, it is to spread the cost of defective products on those who can bear the cost -- the manufacturers with lots of money -- rather than on those who cannot bear the cost -- the general populace. In general, you like strict liability theories for products liability. It prevents companies from knowingly or negligently putting bad products on the market and standing behind a "caveat emptor" defense.

In this case, I have to admit, I'm skeptical as to whether the straps were defectively designed. If only some were made weaker relative to others, then those might be defectively manufactured, but I think that abnormal, excessive use might be a more proximate cause than any alleged defects in design. However, Nintendo may have screwed themselves by performing the strap exchange program. I'm not sure (because I'm not a lawyer, only a student). However, it'll be interesting to see how this pans out. I'll keep it on my radar.

Message sent to Green Welling LLP

[RandUser]

My problem involves litigious companies taking action regarding frivolous and, dare I say, mind-bogglingly ridiculous assertions. Such as claiming that Nintendo of America is somehow responsible for the few customers incapable of controlling their own body.
        Disregarding the very clear warnings instructing users to _not_ let go of the controller, Nintendo makes no assertions about the ability of the wrist strap to prevent powerful forces from breaking them. The wrist strap is intended for no other _explicit_ purpose than as a handy way to have the controller hang from your wrist during periods of inactivity.
        To further ignore that Nintendo has already improved the wrist straps (and created a replacement program) in lieu of these zealous users when they have no obligation to due so demonstrates how petty and ignoble Green Welling LLP is. I will take whatever opportunities I may have to express my extreme displeasure in your company.

Thank you for your great effort in reading this,
RandUser

Re:Knock it off.

[jedidiah]

I will take your shill site and raise you a genuine litigator that's also a coffee snob.

McDonalds does infact keep their coffee hotter than Starbucks. People drink Starbucks because they use quality beans, don't abuse those beans too badly and then don't drastically overuse them. Starbucks also offers plenty of additives to the point where you need not even know you're drinking coffee.

People fork over London-esque prices over to Starbucks not because "it's hot" but because they actually like to TASTE the things that they eat and drink.

Being able to do permanent skin damage to yourself doesn't even enter into it.

McCoffee would be a shining example of how the standard American brew bears little resemblance to what the rest of the planet thinks is coffee.

Place it in the same category as Budweiser and Velveeta.

Re:If only stupidity were illegal

[dinther]

"Products shouldn't be released in America" first. And that is exactly what is happening more already. Sites like Gizmodo and Kotaku complain on a regular basis about "why o why don't we get this fancy new gadget States side" Well, many manufacturers are scared to enter into the American market. Large as it may be, it is filled with degenerated morons who all have their lawyers phone number tattooed on their right arm.

Any manufacturer mostly release their products in normal countries first to give them a chance to make the product USA Idiot proof. Once they have done that and stockpiled enough money to handle the lawyers fees they will incur in the USA they might think about releasing there.

I design a range of products for clients and I always suggest to steer clear of the USA because there is always a dick that is going to sue you and you better have a fat wallet ready.

Total douchebags.

[Kingrames]

Anyone suing Nintendo over this is purely doing it to hurt a good company that's making a great system and really bringing a lot of new stuff into the video game world. I hope the identities of the people bringing litigation against them are leaked so that they can really feel shamed about what they've done.

Re:Knock it off.

[tgibbs]

Although a lot of people have argued that the ruling was faulty based on the fact that the temperature was not extraordinarily hot for coffee (which it wasn't) and that many people like coffee this hot (which is true), the court clearly considered not just the temperature of the coffee, but all of the circumstances under which it was served. So while the temperature of the coffee might be perfectly appropriate for coffee served at a table in a ceramic cup, MacDonalds was serving it at that temperature in a styrofoam cup that softens under heat. The cup is stabilized by the rigid lid, and is fine as long as the lid is firmly in place, but it has a tendency to suddenly collapse with even fairly gentle pressure on the sides if the lid is removed. And they were serving it this way to people in automobiles, with separate sugar that required the buyer to remove the lid. A "contents are hot" warning hardly alleviates the hazard, because that does not really convey the nature of the hazard. Perhaps a warning more along the lines of "Warning, cup may suddenly collapse and spill hot contents if lid is removed" would have given MacDonald's more protection from liability. Serving the coffee cooler would have been one option, but hardly the only one; they could also have chose to use a rigid cardboard cup that is not prone to softening and collapse. Even then, the court only found MacDonalds to be partially at fault.

Re:If only stupidity were illegal

[Zordak]

If Nintendo had not added the strap, this couldn't have happened.

I think you're seriously underestimating plaintiffs' lawyers. If Nintendo had not included a strap, that attorney would be standing in front of a jury saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, Nintendo could have avoided these grievous injuries to person and property if they had just included a simple strap for the wiimote---a strap that would have cost no more than a few cents each. But those greedy Japanese capitalists had no more regard for Americans than their forebears had when they bombed Pearl Harbor. They put profits before people [this is a plaintiff's attorney's favorite line], and now you should tell them that in America, we don't put up with that sort of thing."

Re:Knock it off.

[PeelBoy]

So if a beer company made a beer that had slightly more alcohol than normal and a person guy super drunk and crashed (killing an innocent family in the process) does that make it the beer companies fault for having .2% more alcohol than expected?

Re:Knock it off.

[Laur]

The cup is stabilized by the rigid lid, and is fine as long as the lid is firmly in place, but it has a tendency to suddenly collapse with even fairly gentle pressure on the sides if the lid is removed.

It is fairly obvious that the cup is soft and that the lid is helping to keep it rigid, a warning to that effect really shouldn't be necessary. AFAIK, cardboard cups suffer from the same problem, they are also not very rigid without the lid. However, most people are bright enough to not open a container containing hot liquid directly over their genitals. I don't know about you, but I usually lean forward and hold the cup over the vehicle floor, or the center console, or anywhere else that is not directly over my body. Furthermore, most people won't sit in the hot liquid for 90 seconds while it is burning them. Millions of people deal with hot liquids in flimsy cups in vehicles every day without problems, indicating that there really isn't an "unreasonable danger" associated with it. The woman spilled her coffee. It happens, but it really is no one's fault but her own.

Re:If only stupidity were illegal

[crossmr]

Anyone remember the Pepsi/Syringe incident? I remember seeing the video where a woman just happened to be opening a can ever so slightly off camera and WOW there was a syringe in it.

Same shit. The american legal system is a goddam joke.

A response from lawyers behind this class action

[Anonymous Coward]

So not only is this class action B$ we now have verification that it is being coordinated by the most idiotic ass-clown lawyers this world has ever known. Disclaimer: I fabricated the story about breaking my plasma, in the process attacking the lawyers in a manner that was designed to test their bullshit filter.

Here is what I emailed to [e-mail]:

Hello,

As a Nintendo Wii owner who has suffered loss of a plasma television, due to the wii remote strap breaking, I'd like to pursue being included in the class action lawsuit against Nintendo.

It is encouraging to see a group of lawyers who are willing to complement my unfathomable idiocy. While that may sound both self-deprecating and condescending I genuinely believe Nintendo will disregard my actions, and in turn your legal actions, as complete American idiocy. I'm encouraged that Green Welling is willing to take on this case on my behalf!

When I released the wii remote and it smashed into my plasma TV I thought I would be forced to absorb the costs of replacing the TV. Knowing that Green Welling does NOT consider my excessive wii remote swing and inadequate motor control to be the cause of said plasma TV loss is very comforting.

Please advise on how I might move forward with being formally included in this class action lawsuit.

thanks,
Anonymous Coward

Here is the response:

Dear Anonymous Coward,

Thanks for contacting us about our class action lawsuit against Nintendo over the defective wrist strap.

I'm sorry to hear that you're one of the many people that had the wrist strap break and that it caused serious damage to your plasma tv.

Currently we're in the process of talking to people like yourself to determine if they are interested in having us represent them in a lawsuit against Nintendo. One component of our lawsuit is to hopefully get Nintendo to set up a claims process by which they will evaluate claims for broken televisions, furniture, etc. and possibly provide some compensation for those that had their remotes turn into missiles and damage their property. While I cannot make any guarantees or assurances that Nintendo would agree to such a program or that they would eventually reimburse individuals, it is something we will try to pursue with Nintendo on behalf of our clients. If you're interested in getting involved please let me know and I can provide you more information. A question I'm often asked is, "how much will this cost me?" Our firm operates on a contingency fee basis and so we do not charge clients any fees, and we only recover if there is favorable outcome. Again, I can provide you with more details if you're interested.

I hope this information is helpful, please let me know if you have any other questions.

Kind Regards,
$Insert_Lawyer_Name_Here