Class Action Lawsuit Against Amazon for Cracked Kindle Screens

Kindle owners have been experiencing broken screen issues since the original Kindle. Up until this point, Amazon’s response has been that the user put too much pressure on the device, and therefore disrupted the e-ink inside the screen. They have replaced Kindles for consumers who have experienced this problem.

However, The Seattle Times reports that a class-action lawsuit has been initiated against Amazon for a different kind of Kindle damage.

Apparently, if you use the official Amazon case for the Kindle 2 or the Kindle DX, it has the potential to crack the case of your Kindle and freeze the screen. (For a picture of the cracked case and damaged screen, click here.) In the Times’ article, they say that Amazon had been replacing Kindles for customers affected by this issue, but have since switched to a $200 replacement fee because the cracks are caused by alleged improper use of the case.

Amazon asserts that opening the case backwards (with the Kindle screen facing away from you) is what causes the cracks. As the owner of the official Amazon case for Kindle 2, I can certainly see how that might happen. In fact, I have purposely avoided accidentally opening the case that way for fear that I would cause damage to the device. Common sense aside, affected consumers are claiming that there should at least be a warning in the packaging of the case.

According to the Times’ article,

The couple’s suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle today, said the value of the “matter in controversy” exceeds $5 million. It said the class would include buyers of Kindle 2 and Kindle DX models “installed in a Kindle Cover designed by Amazon.”

This does not specify whether the case includes only those owners of Kindle 2 and Kindle DX that are installed in the Amazon cover and have experienced a cracked screen, or just any Kindle 2 or DX owner with an official Amazon cover.

UPDATE 7/22/09: Amazon will be replacing cracked Kindle 2 screens for free, not for the $200 replacement fee as previously said. Click here for more details.