Monster Hit With Class Action Over Poor Quality Tablets

On Feb 11, a class action lawsuit was filed against Monster Inc. over its M7 tablet computer. The class action alleges that the M7 tablets “suffer from notorious charging port defects that make them substantially certain to fail prematurely.”  The lawsuit also claims that Monster misled consumers about the technical specifications of the M7 tablets, “leaving customers with only a fraction of the storage space and camera resolution that they pay for.”

Monster, more well known for its high-end computer and TV cables, started selling its M7 tablet in 2013. The tablet warranty class action lawsuit alleges that Monster makes several misleading claims and warranties about its M7 tablet, including that it has a 5 megapixel camera and 16 gigabytes of storage space.

The Monster class action lawsuit claims that the M7 tablet rear camera takes pictures with only 3.1 megapixels at its best, and that because of the way Monster set up the tablet’s hard drive, consumers only have access to less than 1 gigabyte of storage.

According to the Monster tablet class action lawsuit, the M7 also has other “critical design and manufacturing defects.” First, the micro USB connector is missing half of the typical number of connection points to the tablet’s motherboard, and is inset and floating, which makes it prone to breaking. Second, the plug on the Monster tablet’s power cord is not built to micro USB specifications, because it has longer “latching blades” that cause consumers to have to use more force to plug in and take out the power connecter. The Monster tablet lawsuit states that those two issues together make it highly likely that the power connector on the M7 tablet will fail.

The issues with Monster’s power cord, camera, and storage space were well-known to Monster because of the numerous reviews and complaints about the M7 tablet, the class action lawsuit asserts. However, the complaint continues, Monster failed to disclose these issues to consumers, and has also failed to honor its one-year warranty.

Plaintiff Antonette Grays states that she purchased her first M7 tablet in March of 2014, which failed within a month of light use. She was able to return it to the store and get a replacement, which allegedly lasted only six months. She was then told to ship the second tablet to Monster under its one-year warranty. Grays claims that the tablet has been in the “initial testing” stage at Monster for more than a year.

“As it has with thousands of others, Monster refuses to so much as return Plaintiff’s calls, much less her tablet or money,” the M7 tablet warranty class action asserts.

The Monster M7 tablet warranty lawsuit seeks to represent as a Class “all individuals in the United States who purchased a Monster M7 tablet computer.” The lawsuit asks for restitution for all consumers who purchased the M7 tablet, based on federal and California warranty and unfair business practice laws.

Grays is represented by Todd M. Logan, Rafey S. Balabanian, Alicia Hwang, and Eve-Lynn Rapp of Edelson PC.

The Monster M7 Tablet Warranty Class Action Lawsuit is Antonette Grays v. Monster Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-00693, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Fransisco Division.