iPod nano Class Action Suit Hops the Border

Lawyers bringing a class action suit claiming the Apple's iPod nano screen scratches too easily have now filed suits on behalf of buyers in Mexico and the U.K.

Lawyers representing users in a class action lawsuit against Apple Computer claiming the screens on its popular iPod nano portable music player scratch too easily have filed suits in California on behalf of customers in Mexico and the United Kingdom.

The complaint alleges that the screens on the iPod nano scratch too quickly during normal use, and that Apple was aware of the flaw but chose to ignore the issue in a rush to get the product to market. Steve Berman, lead attorney on both cases, says the second suit resulted from a large number of international requests to be included in the firm’s original class-action suit. Berman said, “Apple’s iPod Nano has sold in record numbers around the world, just as it did in the U.S. It seems that wherever the Nano is sold, problems with the defective design soon follow.”

In September, Apple acknowledged a problem with a small number of iPod nanos which could result in broken screens. Apple claimed the problem had been resolved, and impacted less than one-tenth of one percent of iPod nanos shipped by that early date. As for damaged screens, Apple has claimed the iPod nano screens are made with the same materials used in the company’s fourth-generation iPod (the unit with the color screen which predated the current video-capable iPods), which didn’t generate consumer complaints.

According to the lawsuit, iPod nano screens are protected with “a much thinner layer of resin[...]that does not provide adequate protection.”

When the issue of easily scratched iPod nano screens first emerged in September, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller suggested that if iPod nano users were concerned about screen scratches, they should consider purchasing a case.