BlackBerry Pearl Defect Causes Unwanted Calling, Class Claims

CHICAGO (CN) - BlackBerry Pearls have ultra-sensitive trackballs that, when bumped, trigger the devices to automatically redial numbers in their memories, causing owners to use up their minutes on unwitting phone calls, a class action claims in Cook County Court. Another unpleasant side effect of the BlackBerry Pearl defect, the lawsuit claims, is that recipients of involuntary calls are sometimes privy to a caller's private, confidential conversations.

Lead plaintiff Richard Wu, who says his phone made several calls on his behalf while he was in China, claims he reported the defect to T-Mobile, but the company only placated him with a few $5 credits.

T-Mobile allegedly acknowledged the glitch and said it was working on a solution, but has yet to remedy the problem.

Wu claims the company denied his request for a replacement BlackBerry and suggested he buy a phone cover, on his own dime, to prevent the trackball from touching other objects.

Plaintiff Kevin Young Rhee said he had the same problem with the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 he bought from Sprint Nextel.

The lawsuit seeks to put a stop to the sale of BlackBerry Pearl until the defect has been fixed. The plaintiffs also request actual and punitive damages. They are represented by Liu & Xu.

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