Lawyers Are Looking Into Cracked M1 MacBook Screens

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CCass action firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating for "potential legal claims."

Apple
(Image credit: Apple)

Class action law firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is looking for owners of Apple's latest MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro laptops with cracked screens to make "potential legal claims against" Apple on their behalf. In other words, it sounds like they're gearing up for a class action lawsuit.

A number of reports about cracked screens on Apple's latest notebooks emerged in recent months. In most of the cases owners of the laptops said that they opened up their machines only to find huge cracks on their screens that emerged unexpectedly Some of the cracks rendered the PCs useless and required owners to pay for around $600 for the repairs, the lawyers claim. The firm asserts that Apple's customer service has insisted that a small item or particle lodged between the keyboard and screen caused the cracks. 

Apple did not respond to a request for comment. This story will be updated if we hear back.

It seems, Migliaccio & Rathod LLP believes that the problem is widespread and it makes sense to file a class action suit against Apple, as was first discovered by 9to5Mac. 

"Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is currently investigating Apple over widespread reports that the retina display in their recent line of M1 MacBook laptops is vulnerable to screen cracks during normal usage," a statement by the law firm reads. "Many users allege that they have opened their devices from the closed position without applying any undue pressure, only to find dramatic cracks in the retina display, often accompanied by black bars running across the screen. Others report that the crack followed a simple adjustment of the screen’s viewing angle."

Class action attorneys charge huge amounts of money for their services, so it makes a great sense for law firms to search for plaintiffs. Meanwhile, in a lot of cases class members are left with small checks, coupons or other awards of little or no value. It is unclear how large the potential class could be.

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Anton Shilov
Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • peachpuff
    Does apple not know how to build hardware? Seems almost everything they release has a recall that reads "a small percentage of devices have this issue".
    Reply
  • Sleepy_Hollowed
    Huh, this happened to my before M1 16 inch MBP recently, though it was an internal crack (not a back hit, not something in front cracked), so luckily it was covered under warranty.
    Reply
  • PapaCrazy
    peachpuff said:
    Does apple not know how to build hardware? Seems almost everything they release has a recall that reads "a small percentage of devices have this issue".

    Their perpetual compulsion to make things impossibly, impractically thin causes all of the issues. It's a matter of industrial design taking priority over engineering. They would rather produce a sculpture you need to replace every two years than a functional computer that would last.

    Now that they have these low-power m1 chips, it's just going to give them more rope to hang themselves with.
    Reply
  • mitch074
    PapaCrazy said:
    Their perpetual compulsion to make things impossibly, impractically thin causes all of the issues. It's a matter of industrial design taking priority over engineering. They would rather produce a sculpture you need to replace every two years than a functional computer that would last.

    Now that they have these low-power m1 chips, it's just going to give them more rope to hang themselves with.
    Functionality follows form - but Apple applies it in reverse, and worse, cut costs however possible.
    In short, they sell good looking crap at a premium.
    And people wonder why I only buy Xiaomi smartphones and Lenovo laptops... Hint : they do what they're designed for.
    Reply
  • Sippincider
    First it's long past due for Apple to drop their thinness for thinness' sake. I can live with it being a mm thicker and a fraction ounce heavier, if it won't crack itself or thermal-throttle when doing actual work.

    Second, class action reform is also long past due. Yes lawyers should charge fairly for their services, but collecting a historic windfall while the people actually harmed get a crumb or two is hardly fair.
    Reply