Loading ...
A coupon class action settlement
About a month ago I mentioned coupon settlements. Now we have an example of one. If you go to www.audiocardsettlement.com you will find a coupon settlement form. This form is where people who have purchased an Audigy ES, Audigy Platinum, Audigy Platinum eX, Audigy Gamer, Audigy MP3+, or Extigy model sound card can go to get a coupon which is:
- Good for 25% off of your next Creative Labs purchase
- Only good for items bought at their online store
- Good only for a maximum of $62.50
This is the benefit to the consumer: a coupon for $62.50 or less. The class representatives received a total of $5000 (split 3:1:1) for their trouble and the class attorneys will receive $470,000 for their time and effort.
Insofar as class action suits go, this one is pretty tame, especially when it comes to attorneys’ fees, which regularily amount to more than one million dollars. Still, it is obvious who came out ahead in this litigation. It’s cases like this one that have me convinced that such settlements should be either abandoned or result in having the class attorneys’ fees tied to the redemption (not the issuance) rate.
And to satisfy the idly curious, here is what the litigation was about (via The Inquirer):
Creative claimed that the products in question could handle 24-bit audio at 96Khz � indeed this was stated on the product boxes in bold letters, and in all advertising. But complaints filed in 2003 pointed out that this was only true in a very limited set of circumstances, and pretty much all of the audio passing through the cards would actually be processed at lower quality.
The difference probably wouldn’t concern the average gamer or casual MP3 enthusiast, but many of those planning to use the Creative cards for professional-quality audio were outraged by the labelling.
MickC @ March 23, 2005