Class-action lawsuit alleges music player’s screen scratches easily, rendering it unreadable.

October 20, 2005

Consumers angry about what they say is the iPod nano screen’s tendency to scratch easily have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple Computer, saying they want their money back plus a share of the company’s profits on the music player’s sales.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California in San Jose on Wednesday, essentially brings complaints about the ultra-slim device that have been festering on blogs and message boards into the courts.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of nano owner Jason Tomczak and others who have purchased the device. The lawsuit alleges Mr. Tomczak rubbed a paper towel on his nano’s face and “that alone left significant scratches.”

The lawsuit charges screens on the tiny flash-based digital audio players “scratch excessively during normal usage, rendering the screen on the Nanos [sic] unreadable, and violating state consumer protection statutes… and causing Plaintiff class members to incur loss of use and monetary damages.”

The plaintiffs are being represented by law firms Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and David P. Meyer & Associates.

Scratch complaints about the iPod nano, unveiled September 6, have been the subject of many web message boards, blogs, and news stories (see Techspin: Scratched iPod nanos). The lawsuit cites several of these Internet comments.

Apple did not return a phone call and an email seeking comment Thursday.

The lawsuit did not appear to faze investors. Apple shares closed up $1.20 to $56.14 Thursday.

The plaintiffs are asking for damages including the price paid for the nanos, statutory and punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees. They are asking for a share of nano profits.

Apple has sold more than 1 million units of the nano since its launch.