Lenovo Laptop Users Want Adware Lawsuit Certified

A California federal judge has been asked to certify a class of Lenovo laptop users accusing the computer manufacturer of secretly installing adware in their devices. The July 22 motion was filed in anticipation of an upcoming hearing in September.

The motion asserts that individual claims against Lenovo hinge on similar evidence and make similar claims. These claims hold that Lenovo pre-installed a program called VisualDiscovery in dozens of Lenovo laptop models in 2014.

According to the Lenovo adware lawsuit:

“Unbeknownst to Plaintiffs, VisualDiscovery operated continuously in the background, analyzing and injecting ads into visited webpages. The malware intercepted both un \encrypted and encrypted web traffic, allowing Superfish to obtain the content of Plaintiffs’ communications and jeopardize the security of Plaintiffs’ private and information. VisualDiscovery negatively impacted the computers’ performance in material ways. Consequently, all Class Members overpaid for Lenovo laptops installed with VisualDiscovery malware.”

The proposed Lenovo class action lawsuit alleges that Lenovo surreptitiously installed a program called VisualDiscovery on various machine made by Lenovo. This program allegedly used a third-party company called Superfish to monitor online activities and tailor advertisements to the computer owners’ interest.. The Lenovo adware lawsuit alleges that this program both violated customers’ privacy and, allegedly adding insult to injury, interfered with the computer by running covertly in the background, gobbling up computer resources and slowing the machine down.

Lenovo allegedly installed VisualDiscovery across about 40 different computer models they manufactured in 2014. According to the motion, the VisualDiscovery program was discovered by computer security experts outside of the company.

Back in March, Lenovo tried to get the case thrown out with a motion to dismiss. Lenovo argued that no one has illegally accessed the data collected via VisualDiscovery. Lenovo holds that since there has been no hacking incident involving the data in question, the case should have been dismissed. Lenovo also stated that the software in question did not cause the computers to fail to run at the level of their specifications, further undermining the case against them.

The case has already been consolidated into an MDL (multidistrict litigation), though class certification would make it into a full-on class action lawsuit. More than 28 Lenovo adware lawsuits were consolidated in a district court in Northern California. Top Class Actions has covered two of the cases here and here.

The potential Class Members include anyone who bought a Lenovo laptop with VisualDiscovery pre-installed on it without their knowledge.

The Lenovo adware lawsuit states that potential Class Members may confirm that they purchased such a computer with proof of purchase. The plaintiffs want to certify three classes: people who purchased laptops from Lenovo, those who purchased them indirectly, or those that purchased the allegedly-affected laptops from third-party retailers.

The plaintiff’s legal team is Jonathan K. Levine, Elizabeth C. Pritzker, and Shiho Yamamoto of Pritzker Levine LLP; Daniel C. Girard, Elizabeth A. Kramer, and Andre M. Mura of Girard Gibbs LLP; and Steven N. Williams, Matthew K. Edling, and Alexandra P. Summer of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP.

The Lenovo Adware Class Action Lawsuit is In Re: Lenovo Adware Litigation, Case No. 5:15–md–02624 – RMW, U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California, San Jose Division.

UPDATE: On Aug. 19, 2016, Lenovo Inc. opposed the plaintiff’s request to certify the proposed Class.

UPDATE 2: On Oct. 27, 2016, a California federal judge granted class certification for the Lenovo Adware litigation after rejecting some claims. 

UPDATE 3: On Jan. 30, 2018, claims in a class action lawsuit alleging Lenovo preinstalled secret monitoring devices on computers were further trimmed by a federal judge. Lenovo successfully argued that class action claims under New York’s consumer protection laws should be dismissed.

UPDATE 4: July 18, 2018, Lenovo laptop users havereached $8.3 million class action settlementresolving allegations that a pre-installed software program on Lenovo computer caused performance, privacy, and security issues. Top Class Actions will let our viewers know as soon as the settlement website and claim form are available.UPDATE 5: January 2019, the Lenovo adware class action settlement is now open.Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 5: On Nov. 12, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail worth up to $244.52. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!