Pokémon Go Now Catching Lawsuits

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably have heard about Pokémon Go.

Pokémon Go has become a popular national pastime. It is an augmented reality game made for iPhone and Android devices. Once people download the app, they are asked to travel to a fictional world so they can collect every Pokémon creature. What they end up doing is traveling to public places, but also to private properties and places of business in order to “catch them all.” There have also been stories of people getting severely injured, even falling off cliffs or getting hit by cars, while playing the popular game. Now, the creators of Pokémon Go are fielding a slew of lawsuits.

Class Action Lawsuit for Personal Injury

The creators of Pokémon Go may be looking at a class action lawsuit as the amount of people who suffer various personal injuries while playing the game increases. As if texting and driving weren’t bad enough, many players play Pokémon Go while driving, and it’s only a matter of time before one of those players causes a horrific accident.

In Florida, two teenagers playing the game in a car parked in a residential area were shot at by a man who believed they were burglars. A group of young kids playing in Hawthorn, Wiltshire, became lost in caves and had to be rescued. And there are numerous other instances of personal injuries sustained while playing the game. 

How does Niantic, Pokémon Company, and Nintendo, the creators of Pokémon Go, avoid liability? The creators included a friendly welcome that warns players to abide by local laws. The game’s terms of service also explicitly state the following:

Players should be “aware of your surroundings and play safely. You agree that your use of the App and play of the game is at your own risk, and it is your responsibility to maintain such health, liability, hazard, personal injury, medical, life, and other insurance policies as you deem reasonably necessary for any injuries that you may incur while using the Services.”

There is legal precedent which establishes no liability for the makers of video games. The most famous lawsuit against a video game company was filed by the widow of a teacher who was killed in the Columbine High School massacre. The widow sought $5 billion in damages. The judge ruled that none of the defendants named in the lawsuit were liable for the slain teacher, primarily because “the harm is intentionally caused by a third person and is not within the scope of the risk created by the actor’s conduct.”

But a case against Pokémon Go creators is different. The game very clearly puts people in harm’s way by making them collect characters in these dangerous places – while driving, on private property, in the middle of the street, etc. Nevertheless, they have a very well-crafted statement which states that the players assume the risk of playing the game and that the players are responsible for any personal injuries sustained while playing.

Only time will tell whether a lawsuit against Pokémon Go for personal injuries will hold water.

Invasion of Use and Enjoyment of Private Property

A Michigan couple recently filed a class action lawsuit against Niantic, Pokémon Company and Nintendo, claiming the game has turned their neighborhood into a “nightmare.” Evidently a Pokémon gym and Pokéstop is located near their private cul-de-sac. Players are blocking driveways and parking their cars on private lawns. According to the complaint, players also peer into their windows and even cuss at them when they ask the players to leave.

The lawsuit alleges the placement of Pokéstop and Pokémon Gyms on or near private property constitutes invasion of use and enjoyment. The couple requested that the gym and Pokéstop be removed as stops near their home, but their request was met with generic responses via the company website.