Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D), the law firm behind the recent class action over DualSense’s drift issue, is asking potential complainants to opt out of Sony’s arbitration clause. Doing so would prevent the console maker from having the case thrown out of court in favor of a settlement.
As spotted by IGN, CSK&D published a notice on its website explaining that PlayStation 5 users agree to an arbitration clause included in Sony’s Software Product License Agreement. There’s no way to proceed without accepting it, but users can manually opt out by sending a letter to Sony within 30 days of booting up the console. To assist users in sending the letter, CSK&D has put up a template on its website that can be easily filled out, and has provided an address to mail it to.
“As we continue to litigate this case, we encourage you to opt out of Sony’s arbitration clause to litigate claims against Sony in federal court,” wrote CSK&D. “Companies like Sony often include an arbitration clause in their Software Product License Agreement (‘SPLA’), the terms that you must agree to before playing games on your PS5 console. If the arbitration clause is enforced, consumers may not be able to pursue their claims in a traditional court, or on a class-wide basis.”
CSK&D is also offering to send the letter on potential complainants’ behalf even if they choose not to retain the firm’s legal services.
Sony has yet to respond to the issue. Similar lawsuits have been filed against Microsoft and Nintendo.
