Maker of ‘Always Visible’ Luminox Watches Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Fogging Problem

Luminox watches are advertised as rugged enough for Navy SEALs and designed in a way to make the face “always visible,” but one customer says the timepieces have a significant defect and the company refuses to address it. Now he is suing.

Scott Biddick of San Diego claims his Luminox watch developed a persistent fog six months after he bought it which makes the face unreadable, but a company-sanctioned repairman could find nothing wrong. Biddick’s attempts to get the company to replace the watch have been unsuccessful and he suspects the problem is a manufacturing defect, which prompted him to take the case to court.

Biddick filed a class action lawsuit against Lumondi Inc., parent company of the Luminox Watch Company, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Sept. 30. In the lawsuit he claims Luminox violated several consumer protection laws, fair business practice laws, and breach of warranty regulations, among other things.

He is seeking to represent a Class of other customers who have purchased Luminox watches and found them similarly defective. It is unclear how many Class Members there might be, his class action lawsuit says.

Biddick is a self-described avid surfer, fisherman, and diver who researched Luminox watches online and was convinced to buy one based on the company’s representations that the timepieces are “tough, durable, and designed to handle rugged outdoor activities including water related activities while still providing visibility to easily view the time,” the class action lawsuit says. In particular, he was impressed by Luminox advertisements that said they are the “official watch of Navy SEALS.”

His research led him to purchase a “Navy SEAL” 3581 series Luminox for $384.95 from Bryant Park Jewelers, one of Lumondi’s authorized dealers in New York, in early November 2018, according to the class action lawsuit.

After six months of wearing the watch, including while swimming and surfing, the watch face began to “fog at times” and Biddick e-mailed the company to report the problem. A day later, Lumondi responded with instructions to contact the company’s service center, the plaintiff says. According to the class action lawsuit, a company spokesperson told Biddick “there may be an issue with the seal of your watch.”

After examining and performing “pressure tests” on the timepiece, the watch was returned to Biddick, with assurances that there was nothing wrong with it, the class action claims, but the fogging persisted.

Biddick says he contacted Luminox watches again in June, by email, explaining what had happened and sending photos of the clearly fogged up watch face.

He says he got no response and so contacted the company again, via email, a week later, saying “My watch continued to fog up. I believe it was broken from the beginning as I have had problems with this ever since. I would like to replace the watch with one that works,” according to the class action lawsuit he filed. The company did not respond, he says.

“The watches contain a fogging defect that causes Luminox watch faces to fog when worn outdoors in air temperatures below approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit or above approximately 90 degrees Fahrenheit,” the class action lawsuit claims. Later, the complaint goes on to say the company has known for years about the fogging problem and even includes information about it on the “FAQ” page of its website.

“Under certain circumstances condensation can build up on the inside of the watch due to natural humidity. … As long as the fog is not caused by a leak due to shock or damage to the watch, the fog will dissipate when the watch is in a normal climate again. … within 2 to 3 minutes in a normal temperature,” the class action cites the Luminox website as saying.

“Regardless of whether it is ever ‘normal’ for a regular watch to fog up just because it is worn outdoors, it is certainly not ‘normal’ for a watch developed for Navy SEALs and marketed to ‘rugged outdoorsmen’ seeking ‘extreme performance’ and ‘ultimate visibility’ to do so,” Biddick’s class action argues.

Have you ever purchased a Luminox watch? Has is developed condensation or fog that prevents you from seeing the watch face? Tell us about it in the comment section below.

Lead plaintiff Scott Biddick and the proposed Class Members are represented by Todd S. Garber and Bradley F. Silverman of Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP; Jeffrey S. Goldenberg of Goldenberg Schneider, LPA; Sean K. Collins of Law Offices of Sean K. Collins; and Ex Kano S. Sams II of Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP.

The Luminox Watches Class Action Lawsuit is Scott Biddick, et al. v. Lumondi, Inc., Case No. 7:20-cv-08091, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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