An action brought against the OEM alleging certain models of its colour laser printers were “damaged”, owing to design flaws, has been dismissed.
The plaintiffs first alleged in 2011 that “inadequately disclosed” design features had caused the printers to use colour toner at a higher rate than a user would expect, requiring a replacement cartridge before the original had delivered its advertised yield, Business Wire reported. They presented a variety of theories for measuring the alleged damages, none of which were accepted by the New Jersey district court, including claiming that all buyers did not to realize as much as 75% of the promised yield for their cartridge, equating to roughly $200 million (€175 million) in damages.
Yet the New Jersey federal district court found “no evidence that Brother-branded printers do not work as advertised”, nor that the plaintiffs’ cartridges had failed to deliver their yield. The plaintiffs also attempted to substantiate their claims by reviewing Brother documents and moving to certify national class suing the OEM under New Jersey’s consumer protection, the state where the company is based. Data from the plaintiffs’ printers showed the toner cartridges had delivered the advertised yield.
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