We know as well as anyone that Kindles can be frustratingly fragile, but that's why you buy a case, right? For the plaintiffs in a fresh class action lawsuit against Amazon, it was actually the case that caused the problems.

Matt Geise, the name behind the case, went out of his way to buy Amazon's $30 protective cover for his wife's Kindle 2. Over time, the points where the cover attaches to the device with metal clips began cracking. As the cracks got more severe, so did the Kindle's symptoms. Eventually, it totally croaked, as you can see above.

Geise went to Amazon, who told him to shell out $200 for repairs—less than the cost of a new or used Kindle, but not by much. So, as you do nowadays, he turned to the internet, where he found people with similar stories. Then, as you also apparently do nowadays, he parlayed it into a $5m class action lawsuit.

Fair enough, though I imagine Geise and Co. could have a tough time proving this is a design defect, and not just a symptom of rough treatment. Still, the Kindle's already got a somewhat flimsy reputation for, um, flimsiness, and this news doesn't help. Flexible displays can't come soon enough. [Seattle Times via Fast Company]

Send an email to John Herrman, the author of this post, at jherrman@gizmodo.com.