LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Numerous players of computer games produced by Sega of America are seeking a court order directing the entertainment giant to adhere to the terms of a 2021 agreement when arbitrating their claims that the targeting of their age and gender groups with ads during play violates California law.
Dustin Hensley is the lead petitioner in the Los Angeles Superior Court legal action involving people who played Sega's mobile games in California and agreed to the company's September 2021 contractual demands as a condition of the privilege to compete. The agreement included a provision that all claims against Sega be resolved in arbitration rather than in court.
A Sega representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the petition brought Wednesday.
According to the petition, one of Sega's significant revenue sources is advertising that includes full-size video and static banner commercials that appear during play of their games.
The ads are targeted to the unique profiles of Sega's users, including gender and age, in violation of California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, the petition altered its arbitration terms, the petition states. The changes include a requirement that before an arbitration demand can be filed, a claimant must take part in an "initial dispute resolution" process with Sega, which also changed its original arbitration provider in favor of two others, the suit alleges.
"There can be no serious dispute that Sega updated its arbitration agreement for the first time in over three years in direct response to petitioners' demands," according to the petition, which further alleges that Sega believes the two new arbitration providers will give them an advantage over the previous one.
The petitioners are asking a judge to order that the arbitration claims proceed under the September 2021 agreement rather than through the May amendment.
Sega developed games include "Phantasy Star II," "Altered Beast" and "Golden Axe."
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