Yesterday I had contact again with the PCI SIG regarding the deliberate plug, but in the end I only got a kind of text module as the only official statement, which is already known in parts. They did not want to (or could not) tell me more at the current time. The fact is, however, that the PCI SIG sees itself merely as a standardization body and each user of the specified connections is responsible for the quality of the implementation itself. As long as there are no clear design errors in the specification, this is perfectly understandable and also common.
Unfortunately, the letter doesn’t mention that the tab has to be fully locked first so that the respective sense pins report a perfectly inserted plug and that the specs have been changed due to this. The extent to which the blame in the event of damage can and will be assigned unambiguously or proportionately to one of the three parties involved (standardization, manufacturer, end user) is therefore still completely open. Much more interesting, however, is the complaint, which I have translated and attached below for the sake of completeness.
We previously sent an email notifying you that one manufacturer has reported to PCI-SIG potential safety issues with its use of the 12VHPWR connection. Further to that, we have been informed of a recent lawsuit: Genova v. Nvidia Corporation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case No. 5:22-cv-07090. The lawsuit alleges, in part, that 12VHPWR cable plugs experienced “melting … posing a serious electrical and fire hazard”
PCI-SIG wishes to impress upon all Members that manufacture, market or sell PCI-SIG technologies (including 12VHPWR connections) of the need to take all appropriate and prudent measures to ensure end user safety, including testing for the reported problem cases involving consumers as alleged in the above-referenced lawsuit. Members are reminded that PCI-SIG specifications provide necessary technical information for interoperability and do not attempt to address proper design, manufacturing methods, materials, safety testing, safety tolerances or workmanship. When implementing a PCI-SIG specification, Members are responsible for the design, manufacturing, and testing, including safety testing, of their products.
Best Regards,
Meghan Zea
PCI-SIG Public Relations
Genova v. NVIDIA Corporation
On November 11, 2022, Lucas Genova (“Plaintiff”), individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, represented by Neal J. Deckant of Bursor & Fisher, P.A., filed a class action lawsuit against NVIDIA Corporation (“Defendant”), seeking damages and alleging that Defendant marketed and sold the RTX 4090 with a defective and dangerous power cable plug and socket, which has rendered consumers’ cards inoperable and poses a serious electrical and fire hazard for each and every purchaser. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California with Judge Susan van Keulen presiding.
The complaint stated that “preliminarily, modern computers are best understood as a collection of specialized components, each of which has a defined task. For example, the CPU processes instructions, the RAM and SSD store information, the Wi-Fi chipset handles communication with a wireless router, and so on. Another one of those components is the GPU, which renders the images a viewer sees on the computer monitor or laptop screen.”
Plaintiff alleged that “the gravamen of this action is that Defendant marketed and sold the RTX 4090 with a defective and dangerous power cable plug and socket, which has rendered consumers’ cards inoperable and poses a serious electrical and fire hazard for each and every purchaser. Thus, Plaintiff and class members have been hit with a costly double-whammy: a premium purchase price (the MSRP is $1,599) for a dangerous product that should not have been sold in its current state.”
Plaintiff also alleged that “consumers have uniformly reported following the instructions provided by NVIDIA when installing their cables. These are early adopters posting to product-specific forums. These consumers, including Plaintiff Wood, are generally experienced in graphics card installation and had no indication of problems at the time of installation. The cause of the melting appears to be a defect in the cable plug or the connector design such that too much current will flow through a certain pin, causing it to overheat and melt the surrounding plastic.”
Plaintiff then alleged that “Defendant has been unjustly enriched in retaining the revenues derived from Plaintiff and the Class and Subclass Members’ purchases of the RTX 4090. Retention of those monies under these circumstances is unjust and inequitable because Defendant failed to disclose that the RTX 4090 has a defective and potentially dangerous power cable, rendering the Card unfit for sale. Defendants’ misrepresentations and/or material omissions caused injuries to Plaintiff and the Class and Subclass Members because they would not have purchased the RTX 4090 if the true facts were known.”
Plaintiff further alleged that “Defendant breached the warranty implied in the contract for the sale of the RTX 4090 because it could not ‘pass without objection in the trade under the contract description,’ the goods were not ‘of fair average quality within the description,’ the goods were not ‘adequately contained, packaged, and labeled as the agreement may require,’ and the goods did not ‘conform to the promise or affirmations of fact made on the container or label.’”
Plaintiff additionally alleged that “the misrepresentations and omissions made by Defendant, upon which Plaintiff and Class members reasonably and justifiably relied, were intended to induce and actually induced Plaintiff and Class members to purchase the RTX 4090.”
Plaintiff presented five claims for relief alleging violations of New York’s General Business Law §§ 349 and 350, fraud, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, and unjust enrichment.
In the prayer for relief, Plaintiff requested damages and other injunctive and declaratory relief.
Source: PCI SIG, case summary via Unicourt
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