User:Louis/sandbox dfli publish test: Difference between revisions
test chunked Tag: Reverted |
test chunked Tag: Reverted |
||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
For both the trade-libel and the deceptive-practices claims, Dragonfly carries the burden of proving that Prowse's safety statements are materially false, because the speech is on a matter of public concern and Prowse is the publisher of his own reporting.<ref name="hepps">''Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps'', 475 U.S. 767, 776-77 (1986) (a private-figure plaintiff suing a media defendant over speech on a matter of public concern bears the burden of proving falsity). [https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/475/767 Opinion via Cornell LII].</ref> The public record makes that burden hard to carry, because the central factual claim, that these terminals can overheat and fail, is corroborated from several independent directions and is partly conceded by Dragonfly itself. | For both the trade-libel and the deceptive-practices claims, Dragonfly carries the burden of proving that Prowse's safety statements are materially false, because the speech is on a matter of public concern and Prowse is the publisher of his own reporting.<ref name="hepps">''Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps'', 475 U.S. 767, 776-77 (1986) (a private-figure plaintiff suing a media defendant over speech on a matter of public concern bears the burden of proving falsity). [https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/475/767 Opinion via Cornell LII].</ref> The public record makes that burden hard to carry, because the central factual claim, that these terminals can overheat and fail, is corroborated from several independent directions and is partly conceded by Dragonfly itself. | ||
'''Dragonfly concedes the mechanism.''' As above, the complaint pleads that the terminal is designed so the polymer melts and the post loosens after a thermal event.<ref name="complaint" /> The certifications Dragonfly cites point the same way: the complaint states that the 100Ah battery ''"repeatedly and consistently passed the standard's most severe short-circuit test ... due to the presence of a thermal protection fail-safe."''<ref name="complaint" /> The melt-and-disconnect behavior is, on Dragonfly's own account, how the battery passes its safety test. Whether that behavior should be called a fail-safe or a flaw is a question of engineering judgment, not a question of whether the melting happens. | '''Dragonfly concedes the mechanism.''' As above, the complaint pleads that the terminal is designed so the polymer melts and the post loosens after a thermal event.<ref name="complaint" /> The certifications Dragonfly cites point the same way: the complaint states that the 100Ah battery ''"repeatedly and consistently passed the standard's most severe short-circuit test ... due to the presence of a thermal protection fail-safe."''<ref name="complaint" /> The melt-and-disconnect behavior is, on Dragonfly's own account, how the battery passes its safety test. Whether that behavior should be called a fail-safe or a flaw is a question of engineering judgment, not a question of whether the melting happens.'''Independent testing corroborates the failures.''' The technology outlet ''Hackaday'' reported on Prowse's controlled tests as they were published. A brand-new 100Ah unit's negative-terminal enclosure melted under an 80-amp discharge.<ref name="hackaday-melt">{{Cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2026/01/16/battle-born-lfp-battery-melts-with-new-problem/ |title=Battle Born LFP Battery Melts With New Problem |publisher=Hackaday |date=2026-01-16 |access-date=2026-06-06}}</ref> A unit cycled at 49 amps, well under its 100-amp rating, drove the battery-management system into repeated disconnects while the spacer melted, and the management system ''"never puts the battery into any kind of safe mode."''<ref name="hackaday-death">{{Cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2026/03/19/studying-a-battle-born-lfp-batterys-death-under-controlled-conditions/ |title=Studying a Battle Born LFP Battery's Death Under Controlled Conditions |publisher=Hackaday |date=2026-03-19 |access-date=2026-06-06}}</ref> A 300-amp industrial unit ''"failed violently with a cell venting and the loose BMS rattling around in the case."''<ref name="hackaday-autopsy">{{Cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2026/02/16/performing-an-autopsy-on-15-dead-battle-born-lfp-batteries/ |title=Performing an Autopsy on 15 Dead Battle Born LFP Batteries |publisher=Hackaday |date=2026-02-16 |access-date=2026-06-06}}</ref> An earlier RV-industry report documented a field unit whose positive-terminal connection had worked loose and was measured at more than 200 degrees Fahrenheit with arcing inside the case.<ref name="rvtravel">{{Cite web |url=https://www.rvtravel.com/troubles-battle-born-batteries-youtuber-questions-safety-1240b/ |title=Troubles with Battle Born batteries? YouTuber questions safety |publisher=RV Travel |date=2025-12-18 |access-date=2026-06-06}}</ref> | ||
'''Consumers have sued over the same defect.''' On February 13, 2026, a putative consumer class action, ''Berdner v. Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp.'', was filed in Sonoma County, California, and later removed to federal court.<ref name="berdner">''Berdner v. Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp.'', No. 3:26-cv-03855 (N.D. Cal.), removed April 30, 2026 from Sonoma County Superior Court No. 26CV01247. [https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73278488/berdner-v-dragonfly-energy-holdings-corp/ Docket via CourtListener].</ref> In Dragonfly's own words, in its annual report, the plaintiffs ''"allege that the products share a uniform design defect related to the positive terminal connection that can result in overheating, premature failure, and safety risk."''<ref name="10k2025">{{Cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1847986/000149315226013635/form10-k.htm |title=Form 10-K (fiscal year 2025), Legal Proceedings and Note on Warranty Obligations |publisher=Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |date=2026-03-30 |access-date=2026-06-06}}</ref><ref name="10q2026">{{Cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1847986/000149315226023103/form10-q.htm |title=Form 10-Q (quarter ended March 31, 2026), Legal Proceedings |publisher=Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |date=2026-05-14 |access-date=2026-06-06}}</ref> That is a separate set of plaintiffs, represented by separate counsel, describing the same positive-terminal failure on the same battery line that Prowse described. | |||