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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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44 thoughts onArbitration in Xbox ‘Drift’ Class Action
I know MS was attempting to handle via arbitration – is it too late for this? I’m on my second one. I now have the series 2 @ $185 and for it to have issues like this, rendering it useless in most games, is not acceptable. I know this thread is old, but curious if there’s anything I am able to do? Thank you.
They already ended the case , they sent us all emails to the people that contacted them. .
I never received any emails concerning the Xbox elite controller 1 or 2 I’ve actually purchased four of them had to pay $69 at Best buy for the warranty to replace them before they even expired the warranty experiencing stick drift lbr stock how do I become part of this all of mine are through Microsoft complaints Xbox itself and I spent so much money for a controller that will go out within
I have bought 6 including the one that came with mine. I’m really just stressed, I just want them to send me some free controllers and fix the ones that have drift. Can’t be competitive when playing fortnite. Deadline has to be 5 with no drift, if not you will surely die. And I surely die and miss shots
Add me
I’ve had 2 series 1 elites and 1 series 2, none have lasted longer than 3-5 months before drift kicks in.
Went through more than 1.
Add me plz
Please add me
My xbox elite started drifting a week after i got it. Been playing with it for over 2 years like that. Finally broke down and bought a elite 2 and 1 month in the bumper is sticking. So please add me!
Add me.
2 since 2019. Addd mee
Had my elite series 2 for only 4months now and its un usable the stick drift is so bad I paid 200% for a controller to last 4months and they knew about it and they want me to wait 2 weeks for a replacement