SanDisk class action alleges products fail, causing data loss

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SanDisk data loss class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Matthew Perrin and Brian Bayerl filed a class action lawsuit against SanDisk LLC, Western Digital Cop. and Western Digital Technologies Inc. 
• Why: The plaintiffs claim Western Digital and SanDisk suppressed from consumers that some of its SanDisk solid-state drives contained a firmware issue that could cause them to wipe their data without warning. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

SanDisk manufacturer Western Digital suppressed from the public that the solid-state drives (SSDs) contained a firmware problem that could wipe their data without warning, and, in some cases, make them unreadable, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiffs Matthew Perrin and Brian Bayerl claim Western Digital “finally admitted” in May that the SanDisk SSDs contained a firmware problem and released a firmware update in an effort to resolve issues on some of the devices. 

The plaintiffs argue the firmware update implemented by Western Digital did not resolve any issues with the SanDisk SSDs and that consumers “continue to have their products fail, causing them to lose the valuable data they stored.” 

“Given the unreliability, Plaintiffs and class members can no longer realistically use the SanDisk SSDs for fear of losing all of their data,” the class action states. 

The plaintiffs want to represent a nationwide class and Florida subclass of consumers who have purchased SanDisk SSDs since 2020. 

Consumers began complaining about defective SanDisk SSDs in early 2023, class action alleges

The plaintiffs claim consumers began complaining about their SanDisk SSDs in early 2023, which allegedly preceded months of inaction on behalf of Western Digital. 

Western Digital, meanwhile, has now “significantly discounted” the SanDisk SSDs it sells on Amazon, according to the SanDisk class action, which argues this was likely done to “reflect diminished market value for a flawed and defective product.” 

“Plaintiffs and Class members, therefore, were injured when they purchased defective SanDisk SSDs, and again as the SanDisk SSDs that they own have declined in value and reliability,” the class action states. 

The plaintiffs claim Western Digital and SanDisk LLC are guilty of unjust enrichment, fraud by omission and negligent misrepresentation, among other things, and of violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and a trio of California consumer protection laws. 

They are demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of economic, monetary, actual, statutory, and consequential damages for themselves and all class members. 

SanDisk has been the target of a class action in the past.

In January 2022, a federal judge in California dismissed a class action lawsuit filed against the company over claims it falsely advertised the storage size of its flash drives and memory cards. 

Have you purchased a SanDisk SSDs since 2020? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiffs are represented by Todd A. Seaver and Matthew D. Pearson of Berman Tabacco, and Ian W. Sloss, Johnathan Seredynski, and Brett L. Burgs of Silver Golub & Teitell LLP. 

The SanDisk data loss class action lawsuit is Perrin, et al. v. SanDisk LLC, et al., Case No. 5:23-cv-04201, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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