Dell's 'exploding laptop' problems take another twist

After the issues around its notebook computers last year, Dell now finds that open season has been declared as it faces legal action in Canada from a user who complained that the company carried on selling the computers after it knew they suffered from problems.

The class action suit was filed in the Ontario Superior Court by Thad Griffin, a resident of Ontario, on behalf of other users of Dell Inspiron laptops. It alleges that design defects make certain Inspirons susceptible to overheating and that this overheating will cause extra wear to the motherboard, resulting in premature failure.

The overheating issue with the Inspiron is well known ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù Dell recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries in August last year because of reports of batteries overheating and catching fire.

The publicity from that issue haunted Dell as it struggled to rebuild its public image. The company’s share price plummeted after the news broke in August and only slowly recovered through November. Dell has attempted to rebuild its image by accelerating initiatives such as its carbon-neutral strategy, announced last week.

Full story: ZDNet UK