Sony slapped with class-action suit over no-sue clause

December 20, 2011 By Jeff Hughes

A new class-action lawsuit filed last month cries unfair business practices over the Sony PSN no-sue clause in the new TOS.

Nipping at the heels of the recently dismissed “other OS” class-action lawsuit, a Northern California man has ironically filed a class-action lawsuit against Sony for the very clause that prohibits users from suing.

Gamespot reports that that the man filed suit in late November 2011 for himself and all the other customers who bought PS3′s and signed up for the Playstation Network before the Sony TOS changes in September. The suit revolves around alleged unfair business practices which force PS3 owners to forfeit their legal rights or give up a service that was included in the purchase of the console. Saying no to the TOS meant no online gaming at all.

Sony instituted the Terms of Service change as an answer to the grief it received as a result of the apocalyptic PlayStation network hacks. Sony experienced lawsuits for lax security and credit card fraud in the aftermath of the PSN breech. At the end of the 21-page long TOS form, viewable only on the PS3, users were told they could only sue only as individuals, and if they decided to opt out after agreement they had 30 days to notify Sony of their dissent in writing,

The new suit claims that the no-sue clause was buried in the form, and Sony erred in not making a version easily available online, as it has done with user agreements in the past. Also, the claim is that Sony made this clause deliberately difficult by forcing consumers to notify by writing, with only 30 days from the time of agreement, rather than a simple phone call or even email.

Sony has not commented on the matter yet, but this could be a pivotal suit as not only will the Playstion developer have to revise its policy, but so may other companies (Microsoft) who have jumped on the no-sue bandwagon.

Showing 9 comments

jesterking at 7:47am 21st December 2011 I'm glad! Sue the hell out of them!
Trevor Whitlock at 6:40am 21st December 2011 Well the point is that these people need to protect themselves since Sony holds delicate information(i.e. credit card info, possible home locations, etc.). If I give someone my credit card info I expect them to protect it not leave it on the table at a frat party per se. If anything would come from their lackadaisical security, they should be held liable. The secret service is liable for the ones they protect as should Sony regardless the difference between govt. and a public business. Their stocks are public so they should act in the best interest of the public regardless if for-profit or not. Even tho class actions save the company money so their TOS change was for the worse. They'd save $$ on a class action.
1. jesterking at 7:48am 21st December 2011 That's a nice angle!
agafaba at 10:50pm 20th December 2011 I demand an immediate refund for the free service that I was denied when I decided to decline your terms and conditions.
1. jesterking at 7:43am 21st December 2011 Oh, so smart! I'll have you know I am one of these people who was involved with the lawsuit against Sony for the removal of the otherOS. I would also sign up for this one, only I didn't accept the ToS for that firmware. I could care less about the PSN. I never use is, except to get some more rockband songs... I haven't used the PSN ever since they updated from 3.55. My gripe is, they bundle the firmware with games, so if you don't update the console you are stuck playing old games, and can never hope to play new ones. They force you to comply. You bought a system that plays games, and agreed to the original terms. Now they come out with new terms every month, and if you don't agree to every one of them, you're screwed. PSN can rot for all I care.
Tahoe R. Kamman- Nevada at 6:31am 21st December 2011 Lame! Most companies (including Microsoft) have a "no suit" clause already. Peeps are pissed 'cause Sony added this clause recently. LAME!!!
Todd Gross at 6:08am 21st December 2011 ' The suit revolves around alleged unfair business practices which force PS3 owners to forfeit their legal rights or give up a service that was included in the purchase of the console. Saying no to the TOS meant no online gaming at all. '
1. jesterking at 7:47am 21st December 2011 Jeff has it wrong. People love to make this about "online gaming". This has nothing to do with "online gaming". Saying no to the ToS means no new games at all! They force you to agree, and if you don't you can't buy a new game and play it on your system. in essence, Sony is forcing you to hack the console, if you want to play new games without updating your firmware/agreeing to the ToS!Then again, I would just mailed a letter to Sony Enertainment America, Attn: Law department, stating that I do not agree with the ToS, and reserve my rights to participate in any and all lawsuits, including but not limited to, class action lawsuits. Also, notarize it.That's a legal document.
Mark 'Reaper' Beauchamp at 5:46am 21st December 2011 Stupid