Suit alleged that notebooks were unable to run certain Windows Vista versions
April 29, 2013Image may be NSFW.
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Acer has settled a lawsuit that alleged it sold laptop computers with insufficient Random Access Memory, or RAM, to properly run certain versions of Microsoft Windows Vista.
Acer maintains that it is not liable, but “has agreed to the Settlement to avoid the costs and risks of a trial,” according to a statement issued by the company.
The settlement covers “all U.S. residents who purchased a new Acer notebook computer that: (1) came pre-installed with a Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate operating system; (2) came with 1 gigabyte (“GB”) of RAM or less as shared memory for both the system and graphics; (3) was purchased from an authorized retailer; and (4) was not returned for a refund,” the company said.
Crashes, freezing
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The suit was filed in 2009 by an Ohio couple who bought an Acer notebook from Wal-Mart. “Shortly after their purchase, and well within the one year warranty period,” the class action complaintalleged, “Plaintiffs discovered that their computer would not run properly and that it experienced numerous ‘crashes,’ ‘freezing,’ and was operating very slowly.”
The complaint cited numerous online consumer complaints, including one from ConsumerAffairs.com. The writer of that complaint said that, “I have had problems with my computer shutting down and restarting on its own since the second month ive [sic] owned it. I called acer tech support many times and was bounced back and forth ... Its [sic] had issues since the beginning.”
Options and deadlines
According to the press release, class members are eligible to receive one of the following: “(a) a 16GB USB Flash Drive with ReadyBoost technology; (b) a check for $10.00; (c) a check for up to $100.00 for reimbursement of any repair costs that were incurred before April 25, 2013 in an effort to resolve performance issues related to insufficient RAM; or (d) for Class Members who still own their computer, a 1GB or 2GB laptop memory DIMM that will allow the Acer notebook to operate with 2GB of RAM.”
Class members who want to opt out of, or object to, the settlement, must file a notice by July 24, 2013. Claim forms are due on the same date. Claim forms can be accessed at the settlement website - AcerLawsuit.com - or by calling (877) 761-0698.
