Have you ever had the uncomfortable feeling that someone is listening to you?
If you own an Apple iPhone or Apple Watch, you probably never imagined it.
Apple recently agreed to pay $95 million in damages to settle a class action lawsuit over the issue. The problem is that the personal assistant program “Siri” is eavesdropping on users without their knowledge or consent.
If you are an Apple user, you may be entitled to compensation.
Apple class action lawsuit
In particular, Apple has been criticized for sharing conversations captured by Siri with advertisers. What’s worse is that Apple was hiring human employees to listen to some of these private recordings.
This class action lawsuit is very broad in scope. If you owned a device that uses Siri after September 17, 2014, you may be eligible for damages.
Eligible users can receive $20 per Siri-enabled device (up to five devices), for a total payout of $100.
The claim form has not been filled out yet, but is expected to be completed within the next 45 days, according to reports. Check back here for the link.
How does a class action lawsuit work?
Class action law has evolved over the past several decades. However, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have a specific rule binding class actions, known as Rule 23. The Legal Information Institute explains what a court must find to approve a class action lawsuit.
- The class size is so large that it is impossible to participate in the activity.
- Class members’ claims share a common question of law or fact.
- The claims or defenses of a proposed class representative are typical of the claims or defenses of the rest of the class.
- The proposed class representation adequately protects the interests of the class as a whole.
Simply put, multiple plaintiffs must all have sufficiently similar claims, so that the judgment will have broadly the same impact on all class members. If so, the matter is before the court. Did all of these plaintiffs actually suffer similar harm from the defendants?
How long does a class action lawsuit take?
Once again the answer is: It depends.
In some cases, the answer comes within 10 minutes! The defendant may try to reach a settlement with the plaintiff and end the case before it even begins. This usually means payment. A settlement can typically take up to nine months or a year, according to Top Class Actions.
But once a class action lawsuit goes to trial, it can take several years, typically two to three years, according to the Cochran Firm.
