Sony class action claims company sells headphones with defective hinges

Sony headphones class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Ian Kanter filed a class action lawsuit against Sony Corporation of America and Sony Electronics Inc.
• Why: Kanter claims the Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones have a defect that causes them to break prematurely.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.

A new class action lawsuit alleges Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones contain a defect that causes them to break prematurely. 

Plaintiff Ian Kanter claims the Sony headphones contain a defect that over time causes their swiveling hinges to prematurely and unexpectedly break and fail at their “poorly secured” mounting point, eventually causing the earcups to detach from the frame. 

“The result of these defects in materials and workmanship is that the swiveling of the earcups places undue stress on the hinge mechanism, causing the internal plastic to fracture, deform, separate, break, or otherwise fail and become inoperable,” the Sony class action says.

Kanter wants to represent a nationwide class and New York and Nevada subclasses of consumers who purchased Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones.

Class action: Sony refuses to repair, replace headphones

Kanter claims Sony has long been aware of the defect but has refused to remedy the issue or repair damaged headphones without charge, including when they are within or outside of the limited warranty period.

Instead, Sony blames the defect on user-caused physical or accidental damage and, as such, refuses to repair or replace defective headphones pursuant to its warranty. 

“Many consumers complaining to Sony about the defect were told that the issue was caused by user error and that Sony refused to provide complementary repair under the limited warranty,” the Sony class action says.

Kanter claims Sony is guilty of breach of express warranty, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, fraudulent concealment and unjust enrichment, and of violating New York General Business Law, the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. 

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and requests injunctive relief and an award of actual, statutory, punitive and treble damages for himself and all class members.

In another recent class action lawsuit involving headphones, a consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Apple Inc. earlier this year over claims the company’s AirPods Max headphones contain a defect that causes condensation to accumulate inside their ear cups during normal use.

Have you ever purchased Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Nicholas A. Migliaccio, Jason S. Rathod and Bruno Ortega-Toledo of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP.

The Sony headphones class action lawsuit is Kanter, et al. v. Sony Corporation of America, Case No. 1:25-cv-09691, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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