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American judge dismisses Switch Joy-Con drift lawsuit

An American judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Nintendo for its Joy-Con drift issues, saying the case cannot proceed because the owners agreed to Nintendo's End User License Agreement (EULA) that "disallows lawsuits".

Despite attempts to argue that underaged children - who used the handheld system - cannot enter into the agreement, the federal judge ultimately ruled that the agreement was with the "de facto owners", the parents, and not the children who actually used the console.

Several class-action lawsuits have been filed against Nintendo, including players experiencing Joy-Con drift on the then-newly released Nintendo Switch Lite.

Last year, Nintendo gave its first formal apology for the continued Joy-Con problems faced by Nintendo Switch owners, but it wasn't enough to stop the legal action coming from affected parties right across the world.

"Regarding the Joy-Con, we apologise for any trouble caused to our customers," Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said at the time. "We are continuing to aim to improve our products, but as the Joy-Con is the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the United States and this is still a pending issue, we would like to refrain from responding about any specific actions."

A major study from UK consumer group Which? recently found evidence that the Nintendo Switch's infamous Joy-Con drift is likely caused by a mechanical fault, pointing to fundamental design flaws.
https://www.eurogamer.net/american-judge-dismisses-switch-joy-con-drift-lawsuit
 
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Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
QOE1UKH.jpg


People not reading the EULA lol
 

mrmustard

Banned
"because the owners agreed to Nintendo's End User License Agreement (EULA) that "disallows lawsuits"

Lol, that's how i expect legislation and judge's decision to be in shithole countries. Unbelievable that this is possible in the USA.
 

Robin64

Member
How did we agree to an EULA without even reading one? I'm pretty sure nobody going into a store to buy a Switch is presented with an EULA first. You give your money, you get a Switch, that's the extent of it. To say there was an EULA agreed to at that point is silly. Not to mention EULAs aren't meant to be legally binding anyway.
 

IFireflyl

Gold Member
The judge must be a god damn hardcore Nintendo fanboy to the bone lol
Fuck those kiddywink joy-cons, the real takeaway from this case is that a judge ruled those stupid user agreements that disallow lawsuits valid.
"because the owners agreed to Nintendo's End User License Agreement (EULA) that "disallows lawsuits"

Lol, that's how i expect legislation and judge's decision to be in shithole countries. Unbelievable that this is possible in the USA.
The Judge sure is exceptionally bad at his job.

Most judges don't want to be responsible for setting a precedent because they will look bad if it gets overruled. I guarantee this judge just doesn't want to be the one responsible for the validity of all EULAs in the U.S. and he only ruled this way so that another judge higher up could hear the case upon appeal (if there is one).
 

Skifi28

Member
"I checked a box after I purchased something, I have no legal rights". If I had a company right now I'd start puting in the terms that I own people's bank accounts, real estate etc.


YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE CHECKED THAT BOX, now your wife is mine.
 
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Buggy Loop

Member
large.gallery_24273_245_304007.jpg.1d52f6c09209d0d3e38c90ccddf5fcc6.jpg


How times have changed..

There’s no fucking way an EULA should protect a company from being sued. Batteries could explode in a kid’s face and they would just say « well the owner agreed to never sue! » ? Cmon
 

SaintALia

Member
This shouldn't be possible, surely?
It's not. It basically says:
'Arbitration first, if we can't settle, then it will be handled in court'

They were trying to skip around arbitration by saying that it's for the kids and how we should think of them, and the judge just said, 'Yeah no pal, go to arbitration first to settle your shit'.

A key part missing from the OP summary is:
"Consequently, the judge dismissed the action, stating that the parents should have entered legal arbitration rather than a lawsuit, as instructed by the EULA"

The EULA doesn't really 'disallow lawsuits', it just has a forum selection clause, making it arbitration first. This lawsuit got dismissed based on their shakey, 'but the kids tho' argument.

"CONCLUSION
Minors failed to affirmatively demonstrate that the amended complaint corrects
deficiencies identified in the September 2022 order, namely, that minors have sufficiently alleged
the “constitutional minimum of standing.” This order, therefore, finds the amendment futile and
subject to dismissal. Accordingly, minors’ motion for leave to file second amended complaint is
DENIED. Judgment will be entered accordingly."

Hopefully someone with a better understanding of the case or law in general can correct me if I'm wrong or fill in holes.
 
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daveonezero

Banned
It should. EULAs were never sanctioned by the U.S. government. Corporations just came up with them as an easy way to take advantage of consumers. We need a ruling from on high that wipes these out.
Then don’t sign them.

That ruling would make all contracts invalid. That’s ridiculous.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Shouldnt be legal.

That's like buying a TV and somewhere in tiny print in the manual it says you cant sue them if a faulty TV burns down your house. Just because you plug in the TV and turn it on doesn't mean they cant be at fault.

It's like video game have Terms of Service agreements at the back of the manual (when they had manuals). Whats the point of even having it because you already opened it and cant get a refund even if they did read it and disagreed.
 
Even the Lawyers didn't read the EULA. Fuckin' idiots. That being said, I had the same joycons since 2018 or so. No drift issues unless it connects to the system and you have one of the sticks adjusted oddly.
 
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shoplifter

Member
If the judge is referring to a EULA agreed to on the console that seems pretty easy to get around for a new suit. Simply find someone with Joycon drift that owns their own Joycons and uses them on a console they do not own and have no ability to agree to a EULA on.

If he's talking about an in-the-box EULA, I'm not sure how that would hold up anyway because you aren't forced to read it and agree.
 

daveonezero

Banned
You don't sign an EULA. Good try though. /s
yea you do. making accounts and attaching your identity to the pro it or service is entering into an agreement or signing the contract.

You are agreeing to the terms. In exchange for using the products. You really don’t own any of the software or hardware.

If you all have a problem with this the solution is to get rid of IP and the control a company has over its products after something has been sold. But most people don’t see jt that way. And instead just want to add more laws on top of the laws that are already screwing them over.
 

IFireflyl

Gold Member
yea you do. making accounts and attaching your identity to the pro it or service is entering into an agreement or signing the contract.

That's not signing a contract. Also, what happens when a teenager buys a game or game console? They aren't legally able to sign contracts in the U.S. An EULA has never been acknowledged as a legally binding contract in the U.S. Only when this ruling gets appealed to a higher court can an EULA be confirmed to be legally binding or dismissed.
 
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