nVidia Pays Up

Nvidia has agreed to pay any Canadian who had the misfortune to buy a certain laptop computer made by Apple, Compaq, Dell, HP, or Sony between November 2005 and February 2010. Apparently these models contained a dodgy graphics card which was not fixed for five years.

Under a settlement approved by the court Nvidia will pay $1,900,000 into a fund for anyone who might have bought a faulty card. The Settlement Agreement provides partial cash reimbursement of the purchase price and you have to submit a claim by February 25, 2014. You will know if your Nvidia card was faulty because your machine would have a distorted or scrambled video, or no video on the screen even when the computer is on. There would be random characters, lines or garbled images – a bit like watching one of the Twilight series. There will be intermittent video issues or a failure to detect wireless adaptor or wireless networks.

The amount of compensation will be determined by the Claims Administrator who will apply a compensation grid and settlement administration guidelines. Cash compensation will also be provided for total loss of use based on the age of the computer; temporary loss of use having regard to the nature and duration of the loss of use; and reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses caused by Qualifying Symptoms to an Affected Computer.

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