The class-action suit brought over 2011 MacBook Pro GPU failures has now expanded to include multiple states, and also brings new complaints against Apple, alleging the company deliberately concealed the problems.
In an email sent out to members of the suit, the law firm of Whitfield, Bryson & Mason LLP revealed that its complaint now includes California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Puerto Rico, and Vermont. The complaint has also been updated to accuse Apple of taking steps to hide the problems from consumers.
“Specifically, we allege that between early- and late-2011, Apple released a software update that dramatically reduced the graphical performance of the GPUs in order to prevent them from reaching temperatures that would cause the GPUs to effectively self destruct,” the note reads.
Some members of the class action suit have volunteered to have their laptops tested by a computer hardware expert, and the complainants hope to use the information to explain the technical portion of the suit to the court.
Apple is expected to file a motion to dismiss the case on January 29, and the plaintiff’s will respond with their own filing on March 5. Judge Edward J. Davila of the Northern District of California is expected to hear the case in early April.
The complaint, initially filed last October – covering only residents of California and Florida at the time – alleges Apple failed to reimburse owners for out-of-pocket repair costs ranging from $350 to $600.
Some owners of early 2011 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models have complained of graphical distortions and system crashes. The issues seem to be related to the laptop’s AMD graphics cards.
The issue reportedly is triggered by graphics-intensive operations such as watching high definition video, or working in digital media applications.
