Microsoft Faces Lawsuit – Scratched Xbox 360 Discs

A man from Florida has filed a federal lawsuit against Microsoft that accuses the company of defective design with the Xbox 360. The lawsuit of Jorge Brouwer focuses on issues with scratched disks (rather than the infamous red ring of death that has plagued many consoles). The suit comes less than a week after Microsoft extended the Xbox 360 warranty to three years.

Reports of disc scratches have been circulating for several months. Nearly a year ago, Gamefly sent customers an e-mail warning them about the possibility of scratched discs. The game rental outfit warned customers against moving the console “in any way” with a disc in the tray. In particular, Gamefly said that moving the console from a horizontal to a vertical position (or vice versa) and picking the console up when a disc was inserted could cause permanent damage to the media.

“[Microsoft doesn't] tell you not to move the tower,” Brouwer’s attorney Jeffrey M. Ostrow told the Miami Herald. Microsoft has replaced some of the discs that it published itself but charged $20 Brouwer per disc according to Ostrow.

The fact that Microsoft has said that it has “identified a number of factors” that have led to the 360’s hardware problems may improve the prospects for Brouwer’s lawsuit. Its latest warranty extension will cost Microsoft between $1.05 billion and $1.15 billion, and that number could grow significantly if the company is forced into some sort of disc replacement program by the litigation.

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