Invicta Moves to Sink Leaky Pro Diver Watch Class Action

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Invicta Watch Co. of America Inc. has filed a motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit alleging its Pro Diver series watches are not waterproof as advertised, stating it never warranted that water would not enter the timepieces.

Last week, Invicta moved to toss the case, arguing that they warranted that, if despite its best efforts such water intrusion occurred, it would repair or replace the Pro Diver series watch.

However, Invicta asserts that lead plaintiff Jon Felice, prior to bringing the lawsuit, failed to give Invicta the opportunity to repair or replace his watch, according to the dismissal motion.

“Had he done so and assuming the defect manifested itself during the one year warranty period, Invicta would have gladly, consistent with the terms of its warranty, repaired or replaced the watch with another watch of equal or greater value,” the watchmaker said.

Further, Invicta points out that Felice is actually an attorney at the law firm that instituted the lawsuit.

“It would appear that Felice did not seek repair or replacement because he is less concerned with offering Invicta, as required under the warranty, an opportunity to resolve the issue and more concerned with enriching himself and his law firm through this class action,” Invicta said.

In November, Felice filed the proposed class action lawsuit against Invicta in Florida federal court, claiming the company violated federal and state consumer protection laws by falsely advertising its Pro Diver Series watches.

The 20-page complaint claims that Invicta’s Pro Diver Series watches, which sell for between $75 and $250, are represented to be suitable for scuba diving and water sports, as well as water resistant from between 50 and 300 meters, but are actually prone to “leakage at any depth and in non-marine situations.”

Specific to Felice, the lawsuit says he wore one of the defendant’s watches in a pool and shortly thereafter discovered condensation forming under the crystal of the watch. Later, rust reportedly developed inside the watch due to water exposure.

The lawsuit notes that many consumers online have reported similar problems with the Pro Diver series including condensation and bubbles under the watch face, and defectiveness caused by water damage after wearing the product in and around water. The claims of the proposed class action lawsuit say that many of these watch wearers now have damaged, non-functioning, watches for which they paid a premium price for.

Yet, despite these complaints, Invicta has taken no steps to remedy the problem with the alleged defective Pro Diver watches, the class action claims.

Felice accuses Invicta of violating the Magnuson-Moss Act, a federal product warranty statute, as well as Florida’s deceptive practices and false advertising laws, and brings common law claims for breach of express warranty.

Felice is represented by Christopher S. Polaszek of The Polaszek Law Firm PLLC, and Jeffrey M. Norton and Roger A. Sachar Jr. of Newman Ferrara LLP.

The Invicta Pro Diver Leaky Waterproof Watch Class Action Lawsuit is Felice v. Invicta Watch Co. of America Inc., Case No. 0:16-cv-62772, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.