Microsoft slams Xbox 360 users over disc scratch lawsuit; claims product misuse and not hardware defect

In 2007, Microsoft was sued by an owner of their Xbox 360 console, claiming that the console has been scratching his discs. According to him the Xbox 360 was “negligently designed and manufactured.”

Back then, Microsoft went with the statement that there was no widespread complaint about the Xbox 360 having these types of hardware issues. In 2012 the case was dismissed after a federal judge ruled that there weren’t enough complaints to justify the lawsuit — to be exact, Microsoft claimed that only 0.4% of the console had this defect. 

Fast forward to 2014, and the Federal Appeals Court has reversed the judge’s decision, stating that the lawsuit could go forward. On January 15, 2016, the court has agreed to hear Microsoft’s appeal, claiming that the disc scratches were caused by “consumer misuse” and not faulty hardware design on the Xbox 360.

Microsoft may or may not have to face this class-action lawsuit, depending on how their appeal will go.  

This is not the first time that Microsoft has been sued for faulty hardware design on the Xbox 360. In 2008, news circulated about a lawsuit filed against Microsoft at the Sacramento County Superior Court due to the high amount of Xbox 360 consoles that were afflicted with the dreaded “Red Ring of Death.” The lawsuit was filed earlier than 2008, but was kept under wraps by Microsoft, due to fears of losing their competitive edge over the Wii and PlayStation 3. 

Stay tuned to GameSkinny for updates as this trial unfolds.