Hatchimals — the hottest toy of last year’s holiday season — have hatched a class action lawsuit and an important lesson for children: You can’t always get what you want.
Hatchimals are interactive stuffed animals that are supposed to peck their way out of a colorful spotted egg after being rubbed or cuddled for about 30 minutes.
The toys sold for $50-60, but as inventories ran out at toy stores, prices reportedly spiked to $350 online.
For a few lucky children who actually got a Hatchimal, many opened their gift — only to receive disappointment when it did not hatch.
One mom from Bakersfield, California has filed a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer, Spin Master Inc., for selling a product that was all “spin” and didn’t hatch.
The woman bought a Hatchimal at Wal-Mart earlier this month for her daughter’s birthday. After following all of the instructions, the Hachimal failed to hatch and it remains unhatched.
Her lawyers estimate that Spin Master made $100 million in profit off the toy, but called the failure rate “exceptionally high” and warned that unhappiness can range from “extreme disappointment to tragic.”
Spin Master is accused of exploiting consumers by marketing a defective product to their children:
This was an aggressive and brilliant marketing campaign built on a house of cards and lies for a product that was not ready for the market.”
Lawyers also accuse Spin Master of failing to adequately address a flood of consumer complaints. The company has not issued a recall or offered any refunds for people who bought Hatchimals that did not hatch.
The lawsuit was filed on January 19, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California — In RE: Jodie Hejduk v. Spin Master Corp. — Case No. 1:17-cv-00093.
Source: Hatchimals: From Boom to Bust