Apple may no longer have manufactured it since 2020, but its problematic “butterfly” keyboard continues to haunt it. Targeted by a class action filed in Quebec on March 13, 2021, the American company recently offered compensation which could total $6 million to Quebec buyers.
Those buyers of MacBooks with defective keyboards, produced from 2015 onwards, received an email last week from claims administrator RicePoint. It was the Westmount law firm Lex Group, on behalf of a user, Bruno Simard, who led this case.
According to the initial request for authorization for a class action, Mr. Simard purchased a MacBook Pro in 2016 at a cost of $3,448.10. In spring 2015, Apple released the first MacBook 12 computers “equipped with an exclusive keyboard, known as a “butterfly mechanism””.
Thinner, more vulnerable
Mr. Simard as well as many buyers around the world “have had problems with this butterfly keyboard which is prone to failures”, we can read. “When this happens, MacBooks become impossible to operate and use for their primary purpose, typing. »
Unlike classic “scissor” keyboards, where the keys are in the shape of an More comfortable.
The butterfly keyboard quickly proved unreliable, very susceptible to dust and debris. The butterfly keyboard was discontinued in 2020.
In Mr. Simard’s case, the problems appeared in August 2018 and rendered several keys unusable. He took advantage of the free repair program that Apple, aware of the problems with its keyboard, had set up two months earlier. The Apple store actually installed a new butterfly keyboard, and Mr. Simard saw the same problems return in November 2020. He then decided to plug in a completely different Bluetooth keyboard.
This time, according to the complainant, the Apple store refused to replace the butterfly keyboard a second time free of charge, informing him that the cost would be $722.04. Formal notice in January 2021, Apple agreed to carry out the repair free of charge, but refused to offer a six-year warranty.
Compensation without confession
In March that year, Bruno Simard became the representative of a Quebec collective action demanding compensation from Apple for buyers of computers equipped with a butterfly keyboard. The grievances cast a wide net: we are targeting in particular “compensatory and/or moral damages suffered, for the repair costs paid, for the reimbursement of the initial purchase price, for the stress and inconvenience suffered”, for the loss of value of the computer as well as for the cost of an external keyboard.
In March 2023, Apple and consumer lawyers met in mediation and agreed to a settlement, proposed in court on August 21. It is clarified from the outset that this proposal does not constitute an admission of guilt by Apple.
In summary, we offer between $69 and $545 maximum per computer, depending on the number of keyboard or key repairs performed. Some compensation will be paid automatically according to Apple’s records, others require the buyer to fill out a claim form. Apple offers a maximum overall payout of 6 million. In July 2022, Apple offered US$50 million to settle several similar class actions in the United States.
In Quebec, 30% of compensation paid, up to a maximum of 1.8 million, will go to fees for lawyers. The settlement must be approved in court, with the scheduled hearing date being October 31.