Sony Sued Over Other OS Removal (two more times)
Two more class-action lawsuits were brought against Sony Computer Entertainment over the removal of Other OS from the Playstation 3. Both of the new lawsuits, much like the earlier lawsuit, were filed in the United States District Court for the northern district of California.
The first of the two lawsuits, filed on April 30, 2010 on behalf of Jason Baker, Sean Bosquett, Frank Bachman, Paul Graham, and Paul VanNatta carries the following allegations against Sony: Breach of Contract, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, violation of California's Unfair Competition Law, as well as violation of California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act (the two California laws are relevant because SCEA's headquarters are within the Northern District of California). This suit asks for the award of damages to all members of the class (PS3 purchasers from 2006 through March 27, 2010, excluding those associated directly with Sony), restitution of moneys paid as well as disgorgement of all profits unjustly retained by Sony, injunctive relief, attorney's fees, and any other further relief deemed appropriate by the court. The Plaintiffs in this case have demanded a Jury Trial.
The second case, filed on May 5th, 2010 on behalf of Todd Densmore and Antal Herz alleges the following: Breach of Contract, Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Trespass to Chattels, Unjust Enrichment, violation of California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act, violation of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, violation of California's False Advertising Law and violation of California's Unfair Competition Law. This lawsuit asks for an order awarding injunctive and declaratory relief, restitution and/or disgorgement, damages with interest at the maximum rate allowable by law, attorney's fees, and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court. Once again, the Plaintiffs in this suit have demanded a trial by jury.
Both of these suits are interesting in the fact that they allege that Sony committed fraud in the removal of Other OS, which could imply treble damages that are much more than any actual damages incurred. It could be interesting to see how Sony deals with three lawsuits all alleging different misconduct on the part of Sony in regard to the removal of Other OS, and if any of these will be settled out of court (as seems to be the case with the majority of class action lawsuits).
Personally, I'd be happy if they were to just reinstate the feature and sign an affidavit to never attempt to remove it again.
Source: IGN (actual legal filings are linked to from there, and they're somewhat interesting to read, if you can wade through the legalese)
