Media Lawsuit of the Week
Josh Dickey: The Case of the Sweaty iPod: “A Manhattan Beach, Calif., man claims that his iPod shuffle is defective because while working out, his perspiration traveled down the earphone cord, shutting it down.” Now he’s filing a class action claiming breach of warranty, among other things.
The lawsuit seems stupid and frivolous at first glance. Unfortunately, it will take more than pointing that out to make the lawsuit go away.
I haven’t read the complaint, but I doubt the warranty claims will survive. That iPods meet the implied warranty of merchantability is probably out of the question (iPods are at least of average quality and fit for the ordinary purposes they are intended to serve). But I doubt Apple has ever made any express warranties about iPods being sweat-resistant, for one. The implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is also – arguably – inapplicable (would Apple know or have reason to know that the buyer would sweat into his iPod?).
Finally, class actions require numerosity, which is to say there has to be such a large number of plaintiffs as to make a joinder of all their claims impracticable. So this dude and his attorney need to find a lot of sweaty iPod owners to get class action certification.
Class actions are big moneymakers for the plaintiffs’ bar. So I’d sign up for a couple of yoga classes. Lots of sweaty folks there.
