The eight year old lawsuit against Microsoft for Xbox 360’s alleged disk-scratching due to a design flaw will move forward after Microsoft’s motion to have the ruling reconsidered was denied by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Court originally ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in March and Microsoft pleaded for the court to rehear the case. Yesterday, the Court dismissed Microsoft’s plea, clearing the way for the lawsuit to move on to Federal court where it could become a class action lawsuit.
WinBeta previously reported on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ original decision in March that Microsoft must face claims that a design flaw caused damage to game disks when the optical drive was spinning. In their coverage of the case, Ars Technica notes that Microsoft is being accused of “knowing about the alleged issue before the Xbox 360 launched in 2005.” The Ars Technica post goes on to say:
“A Microsoft manager, Hiroo Umeno, said in a court document that the company was well aware of the damage that could be caused to discs when players repositioned their consoles. ‘This is … information that we as a team, optical disc drive team, knew about. When we first discovered the problem in September or October, when we got a first report of disc movement, we knew this is what’s causing the problem,’ Umeno said.”
Microsoft has maintained that the disk-scratching was due to consumer misuse, namely the moving of the console while the optical drive was spinning. The technology company’s plea for the court to rehear the case on the grounds the issue is not a design flaw but one of consumer misuse that only affected .4% of Xbox 360 owners, has been refused. Now barring an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the case is set to proceed in Federal district court, potentially as a class action lawsuit.
The amended ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is available in PDF.
