ViewSonic Sued Over Allegedly Defective LCD Monitors

ViewSonic Corp., a maker of visual- display products, was sued by a consumer who contends the company wrongly sold computer monitors while knowing they contained defective parts and would fail prematurely.

Robert Theis of San Francisco, who said he bought a liquid- crystal display monitor that failed, alleges that ViewSonic was aware of defective capacitors that sometimes overheat and cause the units to break down before they should. The company should reimburse purchasers and pay punitive damages, according to a complaint he filed yesterday in federal court in Delaware.

ViewSonic “has failed to recall the defective monitors publicly in order to cure the design defect,” Theis said in his complaint. He accused the company of breach of warranty, deceptive trade practices, consumer fraud and unjust enrichment.

The company, which provides displays for computers, tablets, signs and smartphones, sold the defective monitors for $150 to more than $1,200, according to Theis’s filing.

Jeff Volpe, president of Walnut, California-based ViewSonic didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment on the lawsuit’s allegations.

The case is Theis v. ViewSonic, 12-cv-1569, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Phil Milford in Wilmington, Delaware, at pmilford@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net