A class-action settlement worth $50 million, aimed at resolving consumer claims regarding certain defective MacBook keyboards, was approved by a U.S. judge on Thursday. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, federal court dismissed challenges to the settlement and deemed it “fair, adequate, and reasonable.”
The national class action involved eleven lead plaintiffs from various states, including New York, Florida, California, and Michigan, who alleged consumer protection and warranty claims against Apple Inc. The lawsuit accused the tech giant of failing to provide satisfactory repairs or troubleshooting assistance for MacBook “butterfly” keyboards manufactured between 2015 and 2019.
Apple, which denied any wrongdoing, did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the judge’s ruling.
Under the terms of the settlement, class members will be eligible to receive compensation ranging from $50 to $395, depending on the number and type of keyboard repairs conducted. As of early March, more than 86,000 claims for class member payments had been submitted, as indicated in Judge Davila’s order.
One of the challenges to the settlement argued that the compensation of $125 provided to members of a specific group within the class was insufficient, considering that keyboard repairs can cost over $300. However, Judge Davila dismissed this claim, stating that the possibility of a potentially better settlement or the notion that the compensation may not fully satisfy all class members were not grounds to deny approval.
Other challenges questioned the fairness of denying compensation to MacBook owners who experienced keyboard failures but did not have them repaired. In response, Judge Davila highlighted that while not all individuals claiming injury would receive compensation, the settlement would still benefit a significant number of people.
The court’s ruling also approved the request from the plaintiffs’ lawyers for $15 million in legal fees. The lead attorneys from Girard Sharp and Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith expressed their satisfaction with the outcome and stated that they looked forward to distributing the funds to their clients.
