Mechanical consumer products sometimes need repair. The complaint for this class action sues De Longhi America, Inc. for the conditions for repair of its De’Longhi espresso and coffee machines, as set forth in their warranties, requiring repair by an authorized repair service or with only authorized replacement parts. The complaint alleges that this constitutes an unlawful tying arrangement, in violation of state and federal law.
The class for this action is all those who bought De’Longhi brand products in the US with warranty provisions that forbid self-repair or the use of unauthorized parts.
The plaintiff for this class action Hamza Ghaznavi, bought a De’Longhi Eletta Fully Automatic Espresso Cappuccino and Coffee Maker from the Costco website. The complaint alleges that “the product Mr. Ghaznavi purchased did not comply with state and federal law because of the unlawful repair restriction attached to the warranty that prohibited him from repairing it.”
Shortly after he bought it, the machine began to malfunction slightly. Ghaznavi would have liked to repair it himself, but the warranty provided with the machine prohibited that.
The De’Longhi coffee and espresso machines at issue come with two-year limited warranties. The complaint quotes the warranty as saying, “This warranty shall not apply to any product that has been repaired or altered outside our factory.”
The complaint alleges, “All the relevant Products [from De’Longhi] include the same unlawful repair restriction in their warranties.”
This means, the complaint says, that the company “condition[s] warranty coverage on the usage of [De Longhi’s] repair services to perform maintenance and repair work, rather than allowing consumers to repair the product themselves or take it to a third-party repair service.” Parts are also supposed to be authorized, but the complaint alleges that De Longhi “in effect provides parts in a manner which impede[s] or preclude[s] the choice by the consumer to perform necessary labor to install such parts.”
The complaint alleges that these warranties violate the tying provisions of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. It claims this act “prohibits companies from conditioning their warranties on a consumer’s use of any article or service (other than an article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) identified by brand, trade, or corporate name.”
In addition to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the complaint says, this warranty violates state laws, and also a section of a law from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition, along with violations of the Sherman Act related to exclusionary or anticompetitive conduct.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
De Longhi Coffee Machines Warranty Tying Arrangement Complaint
March 4, 2022
Mechanical consumer products sometimes need repair. The complaint for this class action sues De Longhi America, Inc. for the conditions for repair of its De’Longhi espresso and coffee machines, as set forth in their warranties, requiring repair by an authorized repair service or with only authorized replacement parts. The complaint alleges that this constitutes an unlawful tying arrangement, in violation of state and federal law.
De Longhi Coffee Machines Warranty Tying Arrangement ComplaintCase Event History
De Longhi Coffee Machines Warranty Tying Arrangement Complaint
March 4, 2022
Mechanical consumer products sometimes need repair. The complaint for this class action sues De Longhi America, Inc. for the conditions for repair of its De’Longhi espresso and coffee machines, as set forth in their warranties, requiring repair by an authorized repair service or with only authorized replacement parts. The complaint alleges that this constitutes an unlawful tying arrangement, in violation of state and federal law.
De Longhi Coffee Machines Warranty Tying Arrangement Complaint