Hatchimals, the hottest toys of the holiday season, laid an egg with many expectant kids Christmas morning when their furry hatchlings refused to come out of their shells. Now the manufacturer, Spin Master, is facing a class-action lawsuit from a California mom who alleges her child's egg was a dud. The lawsuit, filed by Jodie Hejduk of Bakersfield, Calif., on behalf of what the suit says could be millions of consumers, claims Spin Master ran "a bait-and-switch marketing scheme." Hatchimals are plush animals stuffed into plastic eggs that, when the egg is rubbed and cuddled for about half an hour, should begin to peck their way out. While Spin Master acknowledges some of the toys didn't work as intended, the company tells CNBC it "provided troubleshooting support and where required immediately made available replacement products."
The toy cost about $50 in stores, but it was so popular it spawned internet bidding up to $350—only to leave many buyers disappointed. One customer wrote on Amazon.com that she "watched every YouTube video we could for help, but to no avail," the lawsuit says, per NBC News. Others complained that calling Spin Master had done no good because the company was "impossible to contact," or that when they got through they were told to open the egg themselves. Spin Master blames the toy's popularity, saying the company "experienced a higher than anticipated number of calls" over the holidays, and that the lawsuit's allegations are "not based on actual facts." But an attorney on the case tells Courthouse News that the toy's failure rate is "exceptionally high," and that the company knew the product wasn't ready for market. Hejduk's lawyer, Mark Geragos, tells ABC News his client was never offered a refund for her defective Hatchimal. (More lawsuit stories.)
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