Arbitration in Xbox ‘Drift’ Class Action

A class action lawsuit claiming the Xbox Elite controller suffers from a “drift” will reportedly be moved to arbitration and likely settled outside of the courtroom.  

A year ago, Microsoft was hit with legal action claiming it failed to fix a defect in the Xbox Elite controller that causes it to drift, or move on the gamer’s screen uncontrollably. Drifts make it very difficult to play video games using these pricey systems and Microsoft is not the only game maker to be hit with legal action over drifts.  

Indeed, class action lawsuits have been filed over an alleged PlayStation 5 drift and Joy-Con drift in recent months.  

The Xbox drift class action lawsuit claimed that Microsoft had known of the issues with its Elite controller since at least 2014. The complaint claimed that the problem was due to a design flaw in the potentiometer. The lawsuit alleged that, had consumers been aware of the drift, they would not have purchased the Xbox Elite controller.  

Microsoft urged the court hearing the class action to send the claims to arbitration and, according to recent reports, the software giant appears to have been successful.  

One of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs told The Loadout that arbitration generally means the “end of the road” for class action lawsuits.  

Indeed, arbitration is a determination process that takes place outside of court. Parties who participate in arbitration agree that a neutral decision-maker will make a binding determination in the case.  

Most major companies include arbitration clauses in their contracts, user agreements, or terms of service. Many companies attempt to dodge legal action by compelling arbitration; however, arbitration does not always mean that the company wins. In certain scenarios, individuals can recover more in arbitration than they would in a class action settlement.  

Further, consumers who only recently purchased an Xbox Elite controller with a drift problem may be able to opt-out of Microsoft’s arbitration clause, but only if they send an opt-out letter within 30 days of first using the product.  

Do you own an Xbox? Have you experienced controller drift? Tell us about it in the comment section below! 

The plaintiff is represented by Cindy Heidelberg of Breskin Johnson & Townsend, PLLC, and Nicholas A. Migliaccio and Jason S. Rathod of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP.  

The Xbox Controller Drift Class Action Lawsuit is McFadden v. Microsoft Corporation, Case No. 2:20-cv-00640-MAT in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.  

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Nintendo Switch Controller Drift Claims To Be Arbitrated
• Nintendo Switch Class Action Says Joy-Con Controllers Are Defective
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