Apple to Pay $50 Million to Settle Class-Action Lawsuit Over Defective ‘Butterfly’ MacBook Keyboards

The lawsuit claimed Apple knew and concealed that the "butterfly" keyboards on its MacBook laptop computers were prone to failure.

By Reuters | Updated: 20 July 2022 12:56 IST

Apple to Pay $50 Million to Settle Class-Action Lawsuit Over Defective ‘Butterfly’ MacBook Keyboards

Photo Credit: Reuters

Apple's service program was inadequate

Highlights

The settlement covers customers who bought MacBook Air and MacBook Pro
Apple denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle
Apple did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment

Apple agreed to pay $50 million (roughly Rs. 400 crore) to settle a class-action lawsuit by customers who claimed it knew and concealed that the "butterfly" keyboards on its MacBook laptop computers were prone to failure. The proposed preliminary settlement was filed late Monday night in the federal court in San Jose, California, and requires a judge's approval. Customers claimed that MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro keyboards suffered from sticky and unresponsive keys, and that tiny amounts of dust or debris could make it difficult to type.

They also said Apple's service program was inadequate because the Cupertino, California-based company often provided replacement keyboards with the same problems.

The settlement covers customers who bought MacBook, MacBook Air and most MacBook Pro models between 2015 and 2019 in seven U.S. states: California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Washington.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Apple denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. It did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment.

Lawyers for the customers expect maximum payouts of $395 (roughly Rs. 31,600) to people who replaced multiple keyboards, $125 (roughly Rs. 10,000) to people who replaced one keyboard, and $50 (roughly Rs. 4,000) to people who replaced key caps.

Customers also remain eligible for four years of free keyboard repairs following their purchases.

Google to Allow Use of Rival Payment Systems on the Play Store: Details

The customers' law firms, Girard Sharp LLP and Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP, may seek up to $15 million (roughly Rs. 120 crore) for legal fees, which would be deducted from the $50 million (roughly Rs. 400 crore) settlement fund, court papers show.

The case is in re: MacBook Keyboard Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-02813.

Meanwhile, Apple was sued on Monday in a proposed class action by payment card issuers accusing the iPhone maker of abusing its market power in mobile devices to thwart competition for its Apple Pay mobile wallet.

According to a complaint filed in San Francisco federal court, Apple "coerces" consumers who use its smartphones, smart watches and tablets into using its own wallet for contactless payments, unlike makers of Android-based devices that let consumers choose wallets such as Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Missed Apple's WWDC 2022? We discuss every major announcement on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.