HP Custom-Built Laptop Class Action Settlement Nears Final Approval

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Hewlett-Packard is one step closer to finalizing approval of a class action settlement with a group of California consumers who say they purchased custom-built laptops with defective wireless cards.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton said she would sign off on Hewlett Packard’s deal to issue $25 refunds to customers who purchased the allegedly defective laptops and wireless cards, but is inclined to reject HP’s bid to vacate class certification.

Four months after Judge Hamilton’s granted certification to a Class of California consumers who bought customized laptops online using a misleading “Help Me Decide” feature from HP’s website, the technology company won its request to appeal the court’s decision to the Ninth Circuit.

At a hearing Wednesday, attorney for HP, Blaine Evanson of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP stated HP was concerned that by foregoing the Ninth Circuit appeal in favor of the settlement, Judge Hamilton’s order to certify the Class would set a precedent.

“HP is a fairly frequent defendant in this district,” Evanson noted. “I’m certain this case will be cited against HP in future cases. Giving up our appeal in the Ninth Circuit was a significant part of the settlement.”

Counsel for the Class, Jenelle Welling of Bramson Plutzik Mahler & Birkhaeuser stated she agreed with the judge’s order to certify the Class, but added that the Class’ status was “hotly contested,” and that vacating the certification ruling “was one way we found we could rewind the clock on the parties’ legal positions. From my perspective, it was more beneficial to the class to get a good settlement.”

But Judge Hamilton was not persuaded. “I don’t generally voluntarily vacate an order, particularly when I don’t see any prejudice to the class in this case or, frankly, any prejudice to the defendant,” she stated.

However, Hamilton did agree to approve the settlement terms pending a few changes. Specifically, that claimants need not provide the month and year of their purchase since the make and model numbers of the laptops was sufficient. She also stipulated that a revised motion provide clearer timelines for claims processing, objections, and exclusions.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, HP will pay $586,500 to California consumers who purchased an HP computer between Jan. 1, 2010 to Apr. 11, 2011. Court documents indicate that approximately 23,460 laptops were purchased during this time by the Class, amounting to a $25 recovery per consumer.

The proposed settlement also provides $210,000 in attorneys’ fees.

Lead plaintiff Nad Karim filed the class action lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard in August 2012 after he ordered an HP Pavilion laptop through the company’s website in November 2010.

Karim went through an online custom-ordering process, adding various options including the dual-band wireless. HP however, shipped the computer with an Intel single-band wireless card, and when Karim tried to install a dual-band card he discovered that the laptop was configured not to work with such cards, the lawsuit states.

Shortly after, HP motioned to dismiss the case on grounds Karim failed to adequately demonstrate that he relied on the company’s statements when he bought his laptop. However, Judge Hamilton rejected their dismissal bid in January 2013, finding HP’s call for a more specificity was “too hypertechnical.”

Karim is represented by Robert M. Bramson and Jenelle Welling of Bramson Plutzik Mahler & Birkhaeuser LLP.

The HP Custom-Built Laptop Class Action Lawsuit is Karim v. Hewlett-Packard Co., Case No. 4:12-cv-05240, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.