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http://www.macnn.com/articles/01/04/12/iomega.reaches/

Iomega reaches settlement in class action

updated 05:30 pm EDT, Thu April 12, 2001

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Iomega has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit that was brought against the company that claimed Iomega sold defective Zip drives (click-of-death) and that its advertising was misleading. Lawyers that brought the case against the company will be the only ones who will see any money—up to $4.7 million—although customers who claim to have purchased a Zip drive from 1995 to March 21, 2001 will be eligible for rebates of up to $40 off Iomega products. Additionally, Iomega agreed to donate $1 million worth of its products and services to charity.

by MacNN Staff

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04/12, 05:32pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Woohoo!

Well, good for those lawyers and charities! s**** the people that got ***ked by Iomega! Our legal system rocks!

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04/12, 05:37pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
grrr

Now if only the lawsuit had concerned the real problem: the Jaz drive, which is where the term "click of death" came from. The Zip drive has been a reliable performer compared to Jaz and SyQuest, in all the time I have sold computers, I saw many Jaz drives come back, but not one Zip drive.

tooki
Moderator, MacNN PowerBook forum

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04/12, 05:39pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Thanks to Class Action!

Isn't it wonderful that in class action lawsuits when a settlment is reached the average amount of money that goes to lawyers is 93% of the settlement? I love the legal system! And this time the people who got screwed don't get any money - they get rebates to buy even more products from a company they probably do not want to buy from.

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04/12, 05:42pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Good To See

Its GREAT to see all that money going to Lawyers, those poor, minunderstood, poor poor people who desperatly need more money.

James.

President
Adopt a Lawyer Foundation
--
For only 1200 Dollars a Month you can Help a Lawyer live a comfortable life: call 1-900-law-grrrr

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04/12, 05:51pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
93%?? I wish

As a practicing attorney specializing in class action lawsuits, I can assure you that lawyers do not take 93% of the recovery. The standard percentage is FAR less. I would also point out the INCREDIBLE costs associated with challenging an established corporation who can afford a phalanx of Wall Street law firms to defend them. The costs of litigation are borne entirely by the law firm. If it weren't for class actions, there would be no suits at all, hence, no recovery for end users. In addition, the clients entering into a class action suit are made well aware of the percentages of recovery (if any) that will go to the lawyers representing them. More often than not, class actions are not successful, and the entire cost of litigation is borne by the law firm. If the clients didn't think it was a good deal, they would not proceed.

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04/12, 05:51pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
BOYCOTT Iomega

Send a message to Iomega that will hit them where it hurts. In the pocket book. Boycott Iomega and do not buy any more of there produts. I bought the zip drive when it came out. What a POS! I will never buy another Iomega product.

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04/12, 06:02pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
a** action

When will people learn there is no winner in a class action suit except attorneys. Laws are made by attorneys for attorneys. Another a** action suit brought to you buy a group of attorney's who'll make $4.7 million on this one. Watch for the rise in price on Iomega products.

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04/12, 06:17pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
MacNN, correct the link

I agree with the above comments; of 30-odd ZIP disks in my possession, several became unusable. I knew there was something "fishy" about Iomega's reliability claims, then I discovered a website inviting litigant class-lawsuit participation about C.O.D. ... While I haven't experienced lately the loud snapping "click, click, click..." at one-second intervals, I've advised others that if they ever hear that coming from their Zip drive, shut it down immediately, even if it means jerking the power plug, before more damage occurs.
BTW, the link to the full story does NOT go to it specifically, but to "My Yahoo!" general-topics homepage - I hope MacNN corrects this, and/or provides additional "related news" links about the Click-Of-Death topic that affects so many Iomega users. Anybody... what's with Castlewood, which has not updated their website in seven months, was rumored to have a 5.7-gig removable-media disk (which was listed for sale on one of the online malls), but not a word from Castlewood itself...

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04/12, 06:35pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: 93% I wish

Like lawyers aren't padding their pockets on this one. "INCREDIBLE COSTS" my a**.

"OK, lets see, that's $500 to sharpen my pencils, another $500 to sit down, oh, I forgot my drink, well another $500 to get up"

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04/12, 06:38pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Here

http://www.iomega.com/rinaldi/index.html

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04/12, 06:47pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: 93%

The costs of litigation are borne entirely by the law firm. If it weren't for class actions, there would be no suits at all, hence, no recovery for end users.

Just one problem, Mr. Lawyer man, there is NO RECOVERY for end users. Iomega pleaded NO LIABILITY. User's don't get damages, they get a couple dollars off of more Iomega c***, which is just as bound to fail. How exactly do the user's make out on this deal??? Are you paying me back for the weeks of work lost when my Zip disk went click-click-click? No. So shut up and stop you're holier than though "We're doing it for the consumer!" attitude.

I don't think I've seen a class action lawsuit (not counting the really really big ones, like tobacco or asbestos) where the results weren't "Lawyers get a load of cash, plaintiffs get coupons". Let's see, there was the suit against the airlines (we get frequent flier miles!), the false advertising claims on monitor sizes ($50 off your next monitor!), and Zip disks ($40 off your next zip disk!). Companies want this because if they pay cash, it'll cost $50 million or something. But with coupons, maybe 25% will get used, which only costs them $12million. And if they wait before they're used, its even less. And the coupons are only good if you buy from the company again. Which helps sales if you buy, or saves them money, if you boycott them. Seems like the only ones who don't make out are the people who actually got clicked.

And if we get coupons, shouldn't the lawyers get their compensation in coupons, too!!!!

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04/12, 06:48pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Hooray!

Thanks to Iomega making cr*ppy products now I have the priveledge of spending $150 more on a new zip drive and I get a whopping $17.50 rebate. Thank you for the Lawyers God. Now send 'em all to h***!

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04/12, 06:57pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Iomega Rebate

If you go to the iomega website, into the Rinaldi Class Action Suit link, and into the FAQ link, you can include yourself in the suit with the posted criteria.

You must answer questions pertaining to the click of death on your Zip. If you say you have not experienced the click of death, Iomega rewards you with a $5 rebate towards a new Zip 100.

I must agree with the comment about the Jaz. I returned about 4 Jaz drives and about 6 Jaz cartridges, and of course lost alot of data. But a law suit would only breed more lawyers, so you gotta just say, life's a bi***.

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04/12, 06:59pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Grr....

Umm.. no! The click of death did not originate from the Jazz, it was unique to the Zip drive.

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04/12, 07:00pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Correct link...

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010412/tc/iomega_dc_1.html
is what the link should be; but the "complete story" gives little more information from Reuters than was already described at the MacNN lead. The reporters apparently haven't a clue what it's all about, as they described the lawsuit was about "a clicking problem" and didn't mention that it destroyed the media AND the drive, rendering them useless, if allowed to progress ultimately. Overpaid lawyers notwithstanding (like doctors and webmasters, they have a helluva lot of "unpaid" study-time to keep up with changes and precedent-setting news in their profession) it's UNDERpaid news reporters who, in the pressure to make deadlines in an age of information glut, fail to do in-depth reports or even accurate perspectives on their topics. I had hopes Castlewood's ORB (2.2Gb-disks) would replace Iomega products as the removable-media drive of choice for new PowerMacs and PowerBooks, but it seems public preference is drifting towards CDRW or maybe pocket-sized firewire drives. While video and music downloads and transfers have increased need for removable/transportable media BIGGER than Zip or even Jaz, it has been somewhat muted by cheaper HD-storage capacities which will soon be triple-digit GB for double-digit dollars, by next year at current trends! It is unfortunate that Iomega misled buyers, and little compensation goes to them.

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04/12, 07:00pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Hm.

It's interesting to see everyone lawyer-bashing based on rude stereotypes and little (if any!) actual knowledge. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

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04/12, 08:20pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Stupid "class members"

Stupid people who sign up as lawsuit "class members" have:

1.- Given almost $5m to the lawyers

2.- Gotten coupons towards purchases of a brand that presumably failed them (that's why they signed, right?

3.- Increased the cost structure of Iomega... one of the big players in removable storage... this will means less competitive price pressure from Iomega = HIGHER GENERAL PRICING IN THE REMOVABLE STORAGE INDUSTRY!!!

Thanks, idiot "class members." YOU GOT US ALL INTO "unintended" CONSEQUENCES TERRITORY. Myopic b*******.

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04/12, 09:42pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
on the other hand....

one possible bright side...I see a lot of new-in-box zip drives for up to $40 off on ebay in the near future.....

looks like the consumer gets screwed again. Whatever the settlement, it's a travesty that the lawyers get paid in real coin where the consumers are locked in to further supporting the producer of a defective product in order to benefit from their "settlement"

It's like Frito-Lay saying, "Sorry thad bag of chips put you in the hospital. To make up for it, here's a coupon for 50% off more Frito-Lay chips."

Come to think of it, if you really want to hurt iomega, make the coupons be redeemable for competitor's products.

thank god I went with CDR instead of zip.

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04/13, 12:45am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Boycott the misinformed!

You can take your boycott Iomega c*** and stuff it. This type of propaganda is what led me to switch to Syquest when I was looking for bigger storage options when I could have gotton a Jaz drive. I have two SCSI Zip drives that worked (and still worked perfectly). I bought a USB Zip since then and it still works perfectly.

The Syquest drives screwed up all the time, were clanky, and the disks never wrote correctly. A month after I bought them the company went out of business.

So far I think this Iomega products being c*** is a bunch of bull. Yea!!! and I get a whopping $ 19.95 off the purchase of a $180 drive. s**** that. Those class action folks got screwed when they should have just shut up and bought a new Zip drive (which was already marked down to $50 by the time they got this law suit going.

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04/13, 02:26am | report spam | close Reply | delete
click-of-death

I've had dozens of jaz cartridges go bad, both 1GB and 2GB due to bad drives. When I bought the drives new they came with a one year warranty. After returning the drives a few months after buying, Iomega replaced them with refurbished drives. Why do you think they were "refurbished"? Because something was wrong with them to begin with. Soon enough, the click started again. When I tried to return these refurbished drives, they wouldn't take them back because refurbished drives only had a 90 day warranty even though it was still within the 1 year warranty period I had with the brand new drives. I went from having a 1 year warranty to a 6 month warranty. Why even offer a warranty.
On another note: while troubleshooting a Zip drive with the click, I connected the drive to another computer using a different power adapter and the click went away. I then connected a good drive to the old power adapter and it started the clicking. Since then, I've been going to Fry's and buying the $10 Zip power adapters for the drives that go bad and that seems to work. I haven't tried it with the jaz yet because I will never use a jaz cartridge again. Too expensive, too unreliable.

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04/13, 04:19am | report spam | close Reply | delete
fault of the lawyers?

Iomega makes a crappy product and all of a sudden it's the lawyers' fault? How does that make sense? If you have a problem with the class action suit, opt out of the the settlement and sue Iomega directly, unless of course, you never had a problem with a zip drive and just like shooting off your mouth, or you are too lazy to actually sue the company yourself.

It not like the lawyers put a gun to the heads of the plaintiffs and forced them to sue. The problem with lawsuits in America rests just as much with people who think they can sue for any idiotic thing, and juries who award ridiculous sums for ridiculous claims, than with unscrupulous attorneys who should be disbarred.

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04/14, 12:08am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Zip good, JAZ BAD

I have had one zip disk "click death" on me, never the whole drive and I have 3 externals and two internals. All are100 MB and are totally dependable. My 1GB Jaz, is a bad drive. Been replaced twice, I gave up on it. However, in all my dealings with Iomega's customer service, they were SUPERB. Any replacements were in front of my door the next day. In great contrast to Syquest, who got what they deserved.

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04/14, 11:32am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Iomega is garbage

See subject.

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04/14, 04:29pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Lawyers are people too

just to clear up some of the ignorance and confusion running rampant on this board - it is the clients, NOT THEIR LAWYERS, who agreed to this settlement. People on this board are insinuating that the lawyers for the class action did some sort of deal behind the backs of their clients, which just isn't the case. Lawyers are merely the agents for their client's wishes - if the people who brought this suit weren't happy with the settlement offered by Iomaga, they would not have accepted! No one put a gun to their head! And as for those who are too ignorant to believe that there are INCREDIBLE costs undertaken by any firm brave enough to take on a established corporation, I would only say they are sadly mistaken and refer them to the book "A Civil Action" - a true story about a firm representing plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit who end up bankrupt due to such costs, despite winning a large settlement for their clients. Your opinions on this board are without factual knowledge and reveal only your own ignorance.

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04/14, 11:44pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re:Lawyers are People Too

"it is the clients, NOT THEIR LAWYERS, who agreed to this settlement."

But it is THE LAWYERS who negotiated this type of deal, NOT the clients. How 'bout you and your firm buy my dead drive when you get your check hmmm...? That's cool with me, how about the rest of you people out there?? Lawyers buy the drives?? OK, done deal!

"And as for those who are too ignorant to believe that there are INCREDIBLE costs ..."

Yeah, what's up with the price of donuts these days??? You guys probably go through ALOT of donuts too...just like the cops that also protect us from evil where ever it may lurk.

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04/15, 05:15pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Class Action

The lawyer who posted avoided explaining exactly how the consumers are benefitting from this. He makes it sound as though the consumers have some say in the decision making process. Right, so the lawyers asked them "you can vote a)to s**** Iomega for a few bucks or b)to not s**** Iomega for 0 bucks."

That many people want to s**** Iomega does not mean that they are acting rationally. I agree that Iomega has done something bad but, frankly, we're all grown up and we can simply choose not to buy zip drives. No individual person was substantially harmed, this is just a case of lawyers running amok and collecting large amounts of money.

So there are great risks in bringing a class action suit and many fail. Well, that's true of a lot of boondoggles and scams, most are risky and don't work. Sometimes you get lucky, often you don't. Look on the bright side, Mr. Lawyer, if you are truly incompetent, you can always run for Congress.

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04/16, 10:21am | report spam | close Reply | delete
a** Action

"He makes it sound as though the consumers have some say in the decision making process"

Um, actually, they do. The options of the clients, once Iomega made their settlement offer, was to A) accept the settlement and release Iomega from future liability or B) reject the settlement and continue with their class action in court.
It was their choice. If you don't like it and think you can do better, opt out of the settlement offer and take Iomega on yourself.

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04/16, 11:39am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Zip drive

I've had a Zip drive since they first came out and it's still going strong, along with every cartridge I've ever bought.
No click of death, no corrupted or lost data.
----
Link

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04/16, 11:49am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Zip, Jaz & Orb all Suck

I got burned with the Syquest EZ 230 drives and then with Zip drives. I've read that the Castlewood Orb drives are just as bad.

I recently purchased a couple of 1+ GB magneto-optical drives and they have been rock solid and reliable. They're not especially fast, and not especially cheap, but for RELIABLE backups they appear to be just about perfect.

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04/16, 01:55pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
zip disks

I had a Fuji disk that became defective and they replaced it for free. It doesn't hurt to ask for replacement disks from the manufacturer.

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04/16, 11:31pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Lawyers are people Too

I do have experience with lawyers so don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. From divorce lawyers to corporate lawyers, the name of the game is money.

1. Any firm or lawyer that has half a brain will not take a case if they do not believe wholeheartedly that they can win. Only a handful will take a case for the sake of justice.

2. Lawyers have been negatively stereotyped because of their track record. Do you believe people just make this stuff up.

3. It is absolutely correct to state that their is an enormous expense for lawyers to take these cases. That's because LAWYERS ARE EXPENSIVE. If the firm goes bankrupt it is because they bill themselves into bankruptcy. For some reason they believe that their time is 10 to 100 times more valuable than the rest of us.

4. Try to find a case that goes to trial. They are almost unheard of because both sides (lawyers) milk their clients until they are out of money, then they propose a settlement.

5. Not all lawyers fall into the stereotypical mold, just the vast majority of them. Even the good lawyers eventually succumb to the system written by and for themselves. Just look at the number of posts defending the indefensible. Like one honest lawyer said as he left the profession, "It isn't about justice and truth, it's about winning and losing and manipulation through a corrupt system.

I know of what I speak Mr Lawyer, I've been there. You should be ashamed.

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04/17, 09:42am | report spam | close Reply | delete
ashamed of your ignorance

1. True - most lawyers will not accept cases they do not believe they have a chance of winning - lawyers are paid win or lose in most cases, so this really destroys your argument that lawyers milk their clients - if lawyers were h*** bent on milking clients, they would take all cases, no matter how dismal the prospects of winning - fact is, most refuse to allow a client to bankrupt himslef over a frivolous lawsuit.

2. Lawyers are negatively stereotyped because the media reports only the eggregious cases - the exceptions to the general rule. For God's sake, look at cases like Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, Arizona v. Miranda, etc., etc. These are cases of justice and protecting the rights of the oppressed.

3. Wrong - the market determine how much lawyers are paid - there is no monopoly, or shortage, of lawyers, so no way for them to artificially keep their rates high. High competition = fair price determined by what people are willing to pay.

4. Most cases do not go to trial, they settle. You are mistaken, however, about the whole "milking" thing - in the Iomega case, for example, the class action plaintiffs DID NOT SPEND A DIME ON THEIR LAWYERS!! In most class actions, and many tort liability cases, lawyers recover nothing unless they secure a victory for their client. And again, it is not the class action client's lawyers who proposed the settlement, it was Iomega.

5. A basic understanding of our system of government would reveal to you that is is the legislature which passes laws, not the judicial branch. Lawyers did not make the rules in this system, they follow them.

Does our legal system have faults? Definately. But I challenge you to find a better, fairer legal system anywhere in the world. Respectfully, you DON"T know what you are talking about - it sounds like you got screwed in a divorce somewhere along the line and harbor a deep resentment for the legal system over the humiliation and shame you suffered. Get a better lawyer next time.

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Iomega reaches settlement in class action

updated 05:30 pm EDT, Thu April 12, 2001

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Woohoo!

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a** action

MacNN, correct the link

Re: 93% I wish

Here

Re: 93%

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Correct link...

Hm.

Stupid "class members"

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