Jason Tomczak, an iPod Nano owner, has filed a lawsuit against Apple Computers, Inc. alleging the company launched the digital music player despite knowing that it was defective.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, claims that the iPod Nano scratches “excessively during normal usage,” rendering the screen on it unreadable, and charges Apple with violating state consumer protection statues, breach of express and implied warranties that accompanied the iPod Nano.

Apple introduced the iPod Nano in September as a “revolutionary full-featured iPod yet thinner than a standard #2 pencil and less than half the size of competitive players.” However, the lawsuit claims the design of the iPod Nano is defective because it does not have sufficient resin to protect its face from extreme scratching and irreparable damage.

Consumers “would not have purchased iPod Nanos or paid as much for them had they known the truth about the product,” the lawsuit contends.

The suit is seeking class action status, restitution and disgorgement of profits, compensation for damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and recovery of all costs associated with the suit.

(via Reuters)