■ Best Buy Inc. must reimburse Bruce Shaffer of Santa Monica for a faulty Fujitsu laptop he purchased in March.
Shaffer alleged that the laptop acted up the first day he bought it. “I took it home and it had problems. The LCD matrix had some weirdness and (the computer) kept shutting down,” he said.
Shaffer took it back to the Best Buy outlet three different times, asking to have it fixed. On each occasion, he said, the outlet was not receptive to his requests.
“Ultimately, I tried to speak with someone at headquarters (in Minnesota),” Shaffer said. But Shaffer was unable to establish communication, even after mailing his laptop to the company headquarters.
Judge Pro Tem Ed Schaffer ruled against the retailer, who was not present, and awarded Shaffer $2,060, plus court costs.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 10, 2002. Read the original PDF.