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MacBook Owners' Butterfly Keyboard Lawsuit Against Apple Gets Class Action Certification
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Umm... no. A company can write off an out-of-court settlement as a business expense. Now if it stays in court and they lose, I don't think they can write off the cost of a judgment against them, and if I'm right about that, it could be in Apple's best interest to settle, even if the settlement terms are significantly more than they think they would have paid out if the case were decided by a judge or jury. But that's a different issue.
Apple makes the same amount of money whether that $400 credit is used by the original owner or is sold for $300 cash by someone who decides not to buy a Mac, because that $400 is a liability against their bottom line whether it gets used or not. Yes, Apple hopes that it encourages someone who might otherwise have left the platform to stay, but if they don't, then transferring the credit to another person is not materially different than using that $400 credit to buy a Mac and then reselling it as new on eBay, just with a lot fewer steps.
Nope. They replaced the top cases with a top case that has the same underlying design defect. Their liability is to fix the defect, not just make things work temporarily.
If I were a structural engineer who signed off on a building, and after ten years, the porch roof collapsed, killing several people, it wouldn't matter whether the home warranty had expired. I'd still be in deep trouble. More importantly, however, if I were tasked with repairing it, I would not get away with rebuilding it to the original specs, because it would just collapse again. I see no reason we should hold electronics manufacturers to a lower standard just because the dollar amounts and risk of death are lower.
Firstly I'm a fully licensed & registered insurance agent of 20 years. If a company loses to a court battle and gets a judgement against them their Errors & Omissions insurance coverage pays the judgement. There's nothing that needs to be written off and there's no money out of Apple's pocket if they get a judgement, other than their E&O insurance policy which protects them from being sued. Every company has E&O's. I don't even know why you brought up a court settlement based on my post you quoted. I was talking about warranty programs. That has nothing to do with being sued.
Craziest nonsense post I've ever heard. SMH. Perhaps you don't remember or never knew about the battery warranty program that Apple created for 2012 and 2013 MacBooks? When Apple ran out of batteries they gave warranty customers in need two options. Either wait 2 months for the battery to return to stock and they will get a free battery or if they turn in their older Mac Apple would swap them for a newer 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro. News got out fast on Macrumors (which is much of MR's fault) and people were scamming Apple by purchasing old Macs on Ebay they paid less than $200 for and sent them to Apple to get traded for a 2016/2017 Mac. After Apple got bombarded with scammers (Thanks to MR's news story) they quickly shut down the program much earlier than the original date.
It does matter when customers take advantage and do the wrong thing. If Apple offers a program for their own REAL customers it's not intended for those same customers to sell their warranted product on Ebay to make a profit, especially when Apple is giving actual money as a courtesy. To sell warranty gift cards on Ebay is disgusting. Customers like that make it bad for everyone else.
The irony is strong here. You want Apple to do the right thing but you support customers doing the wrong thing by selling their gift cards on Ebay that Apple gave them as a warranty courtesy to use towards a replacement Mac. 🙄
But you're not a structural engineer so don't make up a scenario when you have no experience in that field. That's like a guy envious of another guy's brawn saying, "If I was a girl I would date that guy". That's just crap because guys don't know what women want anymore than a woman knowing what a man wants because they don't live the experience of that opposite gender.
This is the same type of nonsense post you replied to me earlier about the judgement. I AM an insurance agent and everything you stated was wrong. Please don't make up scenarios about professions when you aren't a professional in that field.
I have a 2017 MacBook Pro.
Some keys started not working properly, and finally 2 keys were not working good anymore.
So I ordered 2 keys from Ebay or Amzon, and I tried to replace those keys myself.
However after I removed old keys, I couldn't install the new keys in there.
Recently I brought my MacBook to apple store, and they said
they can't replace keyboard for free because I damaged it
They said that I need to pay about $500 something to replace.
Today I googled, and I found that there is Lawfirm(https://www.girardsharp.com/work-pending-macbook)
Girard Sharp is prosecuting a certified consumer class action against apple keyboard.
Do you know how long it takes to see the result?
Some keys started not working properly, and finally 2 keys were not working good anymore.
So I ordered 2 keys from Ebay or Amzon, and I tried to replace those keys myself.
However after I removed old keys, I couldn't install the new keys in there.
Recently I brought my MacBook to apple store, and they said
they can't replace keyboard for free because I damaged it
They said that I need to pay about $500 something to replace.
Today I googled, and I found that there is Lawfirm(https://www.girardsharp.com/work-pending-macbook)
Girard Sharp is prosecuting a certified consumer class action against apple keyboard.
Do you know how long it takes to see the result?
I have a 2017 MacBook Pro.
Some keys started not working properly, and finally 2 keys were not working good anymore.
So I ordered 2 keys from Ebay or Amzon, and I tried to replace those keys myself.
However after I removed old keys, I couldn't install the new keys in there.
Recently I brought my MacBook to apple store, and they said
they can't replace keyboard for free because I damaged it
They said that I need to pay about $500 something to replace.
Today I googled, and I found that there is Lawfirm(https://www.girardsharp.com/work-pending-macbook)
Girard Sharp is prosecuting a certified consumer class action against apple keyboard.
Do you know how long it takes to see the result?
It could take years, and if it becomes a class action, even longer, and don't expect tons of cash out of the lawsuit, if you win. It's going to cost you, either up front, or on the back end. And it used to be a third, but with expenses, and other fluff, they have a way to get the vast majority of the money. I wouldn't do it. So many suits I've been involved in, as a member, have resulted in meaningless 'victory tokens' after it's over. Verison, I got a coupon for a 'free' phone case. A lawn mower class action was because the engone manufacturer exagerated the horse power of the engines; I got a 2 year warranty extension. One that promised a minimum of $200, had so many people join the class, the end was a check for $0.48. I don't think I ever cashed it. What would be the point...
Yeah, I “get” the point of class action lawsuits, but now I refuse to join anything that’s going to end up with the lawyer making bank and me, the person that was ACTUALLY aggrieved, getting next to nothing.
I understand that sentiment, but if you're not going to file your own suit outside of the class, you might as well get your piece. After all, the keyboard was a POS.
If “my piece” was guaranteed to be significant? Sure. However, I’ve already had my keyboard replaced by Apple for free, the replacement is still working fine, that’s all I needed. So, unless a lawyer is going to add a couple hundred dollars of free money on top of that? They can make their money without my name added to their list of people.
So you don't join class action lawsuits then. Yes, I am amazed at what they get. I get the whole 'time and effort' bit, but my attorney charged me $750 for answering an email over a simple legal question. When I objected to the astronomical price, and the subject of the email, they reduced it, but I was still out nearly $300.
The joke of the lawyer at the pearly gates is far too common I'm sure. One case, the attorney fees were more than the total award, and the judge just limited them to the total, and let it all stand. I did hear of a class action where the judge penalized the attorneys working the case for exorbitant fees and heavily padded bills. One firm had invoiced for time that was nearly 30 times the length of the case, as I remember. They got spanked, hard, but so many don't even get a wrist slap... Professional courtesy?
Yeah, I remember the first time I didn’t join a potential class action suit. At the time, I was wondering if I was going to be missing out on some windfall. In that case, I think the claimants got $4. $4 isn’t even worth signing my name for
Yeah, it’s just that I get the feeling that the Snoopy table is just a little more evil than I expect a cutesy cartoon table to be.
I have a 2015 MacBook with the butterfly keyboard. I use it daily and never had any problems with the keys. Worried now though reading this thread. I had no idea this was an issue.
Same for me, never had an issue with my 2015 Macbook. On the contrary, it's my favourite keyboard I have used. I have put off upgrading my laptop just because I want to keep that keyboard specifically, even if everything else is starting to get a little bit slower.
I would like to see it make a return, even only as an option, I would even use it as an external keyboard for my desktop if I could.
I have been holding off upgrading as well, especially with the Apple silicon announcements, hoping that they would bring this MacBook back. I don’t mind it being slightly slower today than when first released. I may just buy a top spec 2017 as I don’t see myself needing the fastest out there - portability is more important than speed for me.