EA Sued Again…And Again

Posted by Liz Surette on November 9, 2008

GamePolitics reports that two new class action lawsuits against EA have been filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Though both suits involve the same invasive DRM programs being litigated over in September’s Thomas v. Electronic Arts, these two latest class actions concern DRM in The Sims 2: Bon Voyage and Spore Creature Creator: Free Trial Edition.

The allegations in Eldridge v. Electronic Arts and Cortez v. Electronic Arts largely mirror those of Thomas. Quite simply, the games in question (allegedly) contained hidden SecuROM software that installed itself onto the plaintiffs’ computers without their knowledge or consent, and cannot be completely uninstalled. This (allegedly) constitutes a deceptive business practice on EA’s part, and a violation of the owner’s “absolute right to control what does and does not get loaded onto their computers, and how their computers shall be used”. The causes of action in the two suits include violation of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, trespass to chattels, and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law. Neither lawsuit demands a specific amount of damages at this time.

All three cases are based on federal diversity jurisdiction, and all three take place in California. Strategic choice of venue (or “forum shopping” depending on what side you’re on) has been used by lawyers for ages in attempts to obtain favorable outcomes based on generalizations about the locale. In these cases, California is seen as more plaintiff-friendly in consumer class actions, and California’s generous consumer protection laws will govern the substantive aspects of all three suits. However, it is interesting to note that EA itself prefers to litigate in California, as evidenced by the provisions of their End User License Agreements. So we will just have to see if the old stereotype about the California courts siding with the injured class of comsumers taking on the big, bad corporation holds true. We’ll keep you posted. Allegedly.

Popularity: unranked [?]