PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County woman alleges that a Maryland camera manufacturer is in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act by excluding third-parties from repairs making repairs on the device, with such a move not being covered by the product’s warranty terms.
Rachael Stewart (individually and on behalf of all others similarly-situated) filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Dec. 21 versus Akaso Tech, LLC, of Frederick, Md.
“On or about July 12, 2022, plaintiff purchased an Akaso EK7000 Action Camera, manufactured by defendant. As part of the product’s underlying sales price, plaintiff also purchased a warranty representing defendant’s promise to stand behind the product. The warranty, and additional representations related thereto, lead consumers, including plaintiff, to believe that third-party repair will void the warranty. For example, the warranty states in pertinent part that the warranty does, ‘not cover…repairs through third-parties,” the suit says.
“Based on the warranty’s terms, plaintiff is unable to repair the product via a third-party, independent repair service without purportedly voiding her warranty, thereby limiting plaintiff to a fraction of the repair marketplace. Because plaintiff is limited to a smaller marketplace for service and repair, it is likely that she will encounter reduced availability among providers and higher prices for their services. Plaintiff anticipates buying other consumers goods in the future, and would consider purchasing such goods from defendant, but does not wish to have her rights under the Anti-Tying Rule thwarted by defendant’s unlawful warranty terms.”
The suit adds that the plaintiff seeks to certify as a class all persons in Pennsylvania who purchased a product subject to defendants’ warranty within the class period.
“Despite the unambiguous requirements of Magnuson-Moss, defendant continues to represent to its customers both explicitly and implicitly that third-party repair will void the warranty. These misrepresentations –which have been in effect for years – lead consumers to believe that their warranties are voided by third-party repairs defendant’s warranties have harmed and continue to harm plaintiff and the class members by depriving them of the warranty benefits guaranteed to them by federal law. As a result of such harm, plaintiff and the class members are entitled to injunctive relief and corresponding declaratory relief,” the suit states.
For violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the plaintiff is seeking the case to be certified as a class action, a finding that the defendants’ actions constitute violations of the MMWA, judgment against defendants for all injunctive, declaratory and other equitable relief sought and all costs, including experts’ fees, attorneys’ fees, costs of prosecuting this action and such other legal and equitable relief as the Court may deem appropriate.
The plaintiff is represented by Edwin J. Kilpela Jr., Elizabeth Pollock-Avery and Kenneth A. Held of Lynch Carpenter, plus Kevin Tucker, Kevin J. Abramowicz, Chandler Steiger and Stephanie Moore of East End Trial Group, all in Pittsburgh.
The defendant has not yet obtained legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-22-015840
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com