Canon Settles Quietly, HP Faces Potential Class-Action Suit Over Printer Scanning

Canon has resolved a lawsuit regarding its all-in-one printers that were unable to scan without sufficient ink. However, HP, a larger printer manufacturer, is still under scrutiny for a similar practice that could lead to a class-action lawsuit.

A lawsuit filed by David Leacraft against Canon was privately settled, ending without a large class-action trial as expected.

In November, a judge dismissed Leacraft’s lawsuit against Canon, which alleged that the printers couldn’t scan with low ink. The printers’ functionality when low on ink was never demonstrated in court.

Meanwhile, HP is facing a potential class-action suit filed by Gary Freund and Wayne McMath. They claim that many HP printers fail to scan or fax documents when ink cartridges report low levels.

HP attempted to argue that Freund’s reliance on an HP customer support representative’s statement was insufficient evidence, but the judge found it worthy of further exploration in court.

Judge Beth Labson Freeman wrote that the plaintiffs had reasonably alleged that HP had a duty to disclose the alleged defect and possessed knowledge of it.

Notably, neither Canon nor HP contested the printer scanning issue in their lawsuit responses. Epson, however, has explicitly assured customers through a dedicated FAQ that it hasn’t employed this practice since 2008.

HP appears to have revised its marketing for some printers after making claims about their scanning capabilities. The company now avoids making definitive statements about scanning functionality without adequate ink.

The outcome of the HP case remains uncertain: it may lead to a significant class-action trial, settle similarly to Canon, or take a different direction altogether.

Do you own a printer where the scanner won’t function without sufficient ink?