Nintendo's newest console, the Switch, has proven to be fairly popular, featuring recognizable games like Super Mario Odyssey and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it's not without its problems. Last year, the console drew some controversy over a major design flaw that caused some of Joy-Cons to drift.
The issue drew more controversy than the cancellation of the Virtual Console, and led to a class-action lawsuit against the video game company. Now it seems that Nintendo's request to have the lawsuit dismissed has been rejected by a federal judge, but he did allow the case to be handled in arbitration for now.
US District Judge Thomas S. Zilly rejected Nintendo's request for dismissal but did agree to let the case be handled in arbitration. For Nintendo fans who didn't study law, that means the issue will be resolved outside the courts by a neutral party known as an arbitrator. In the US, arbitration is often used in consumer and employment cases, such as this one. So in other words, the class action lawsuit is still happening, but the final and binding outcome is no longer the judge's decision.
However, Judge Zilly only put the case on hold until the arbitrator comes to a decision. Once it's been made, the case could still return to the courts. Nintendo and the customers suing the company have to report the outcome of the arbitration 14 days after a decision has been made, or by December 31st, 2020 - whichever comes first.
Top Class Actions reported that the plaintiff fought against the decision to go to arbitration, but the courts were not convinced by their argument. According to the courts, customers who purchased the Nintendo Switch consoles "were locked into a valid arbitration agreement. The agreement was valid because it did not prevent consumers from seeking injunctive relief." However, Judge Zilly said that the agreement allows the arbitrator to "grant whatever relief would be available in a court under law or equity," so there shouldn't be anything to worry about.
The class-action lawsuit was filed against Nintendo by Ryan Diaz back in September 2019. He claimed that Nintendo knew the Switch's Joy-Cons had a drift problem and didn't disclose it to consumers. Then, Nintendo charged customers to repair Joy-Cons with the drift issue, making him convinced they must have known about the issue beforehand, which would be a surprising move for the company behind the likeable Mario. The drift issue refers to joysticks on the Joy-Cons registering movement even when they aren't being moved, leading to cursors drifting and characters moving across the screen.
Source: Top Class Actions
