Intel Hit With Multiple Class-Action Lawsuits After Meltdown Debacle

DooKey

DooKey

[H]F Junkie
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Sometimes lawyers just amaze me with how fast they can put a lawsuit together. As a matter of fact three different sets (so far) of lawyers have already filed suit against Intel since the news came out this week that their processors had significant vulnerabilities and the fix will slow them down. Anyway, this is going to be interesting over the next several months/years as these lawsuits make it through the court system. I wonder what the relief for consumers is going to be?

Legal experts said consumers would have to prove concrete damages and harm to proceed with claims. But experts also expect that consumer class-action lawsuits may be just one cost Intel will face in the wake of the Meltdown revelations.
 
While, I am on board with class action lawsuits, when companies do things wrong. What I do not agree with is the fact that the vast majority of the money is just getting sent to the lawyers, not to the consumers that were actually affected by the issue.
 
I have owned a lot of Intel CPUs over the past decade. Probably enough to buy my next processor at near zero charge depending on how this pans out. :p
 
While I think this is terrible and all, I'm going to play devil's advocate here: Don't products ranging from toasters to TVs have flaws that either issue a recall or a small warning? Not all of these warrant a lawsuit because flaws do occur. In this case the flaw was not added intentionally and was fixable in software and firmware and released quickly. I know you can sure for anything but that is like suing a company for software Version 1.0 having a flaw when version 2.0.1 is out and does not exhibit the problem. Intel never promised an exact performance on its products so any slowdown would be blamed on the particular operating system. Their marketing materials clearly state when performance numbers are mentioned using X software on Y OS on Z date and things may change in your environment.

[Note: not a defense. Just a different way of looking at this were Intel comes out on top]
 
Dekar12 said:
While, I am on board with class action lawsuits, when companies do things wrong. What I do not agree with is the fact that the vast majority of the money is just getting sent to the lawyers, not to the consumers that were actually affected by the issue.
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You can always opt out and sue Intel yourself.

You'll probably win, too.
 
JosiahBradley said:
While I think this is terrible and all, I'm going to play devil's advocate here: Don't products ranging from toasters to TVs have flaws that either issue a recall or a small warning? Not all of these warrant a lawsuit because flaws do occur. In this case the flaw was not added intentionally and was fixable in software and firmware and released quickly. I know you can sure for anything but that is like suing a company for software Version 1.0 having a flaw when version 2.0.1 is out and does not exhibit the problem. Intel never promised an exact performance on its products so any slowdown would be blamed on the particular operating system. Their marketing materials clearly state when performance numbers are mentioned using X software on Y OS on Z date and things may change in your environment.

[Note: not a defense. Just a different way of looking at this were Intel comes out on top]
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The problem is that Intel kept this hush hush til some hacking firm found it. If it is found Intel knew about this for years and did not fix it in 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and probably still in the upcoming 9.0 cpu. They would be liable and it will cost them huge.
 
This isnt like the CPU isnt performing as intended. Just because someone finds a way to attack it doesnt make the product flawed. This isnt like the lug nuts on your wheels coming off while driving, or the brake pedal becoming stuck, or an airbag breaking your neck. If I pour sand in the gastank and cause your engine to seize how is that Toyota's fault? Meltdown/Spectre is just active sabotage of a known good product. Intel didnt do anything wrong here, just some geniuses discovered a bug lurking in the weeds for decades.
 
Rvenger said:
I have owned a lot of Intel CPUs over the past decade. Probably enough to buy my next processor at near zero charge depending on how this pans out. :p
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For the consumer at the end of the chain this isn't going to pan out for us at all. At most, we'll get some $20 or $30 off coupon towards the purchase of our next Intel CPU if we are lucky. Only the lawyers win here.
 
nysmo said:
This isnt like the CPU isnt performing as intended. Just because someone finds a way to attack it doesnt make the product flawed. This isnt like the lug nuts on your wheels coming off while driving, or the brake pedal becoming stuck, or an airbag breaking your neck. If I pour sand in the gastank and cause your engine to seize how is that Toyota's fault? Meltdown/Spectre is just active sabotage of a known good product. Intel didnt do anything wrong here, just some geniuses discovered a bug lurking in the weeds for decades.
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And if you go to the meltdown website they acknowledge that Intel did in fact cooperate with them and pay them the bug bounty for the discovery. We should be thankful that Intel offers such a bounty and is willing to make good on it so that freaking University funded discoveries like this are fixed before they become common knowledge and screw us all. I await the AMD and ARM announcements too. The internet, asking you to set your own hair on fire, because someone said so.
 
These Class Action Lawsuits are very important tools for consumer protection. So I wouldn't exactly start attacking the Attorneys.

This should have an impact eventually that will benefit consumers, hopefully.

Companies get lazy, take on other more important interests outside the scope of the traditional markets they initially served. Also new people come in, inherit projects they don't want or were not apart of and resist making changes they were tasked with. I would view any class action lawsuit as a sort of ... realignment. Who the hell really knows why these flaws were not fixed. You might even have bodies of Governments asking for delays due to there being some in-place benefit to these so called "chip flaws" they don't want to exactly lose at the moment ... the general public will never fully know what's going on. Trust me, a lot of people and money are against you. These class action lawsuits are the one small friend you have in an otherwise ARMY of people that are against you in regards to this flaw. Some of you guys need to open your eyes a lot wider than what you're doing.

It's a well known fact that outside bodies will work with chip makers to "product placement" back doors. These can be done thousands of ways. Is this really a flaw? How many other "flaws" do chips have and or undocumented features? I personally do not have a problem with the US Government making sure I'm a good person and that people in general behave. I have nothing to hide. If these flaws are put into place to catch people planning attacks on US soil or to bring down very bad people, then I think that's great. I'm almost positive the US Government is not too concerned with my collection of Big Wet Ebony Asses related porn.
 
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Dan_D said:
For the consumer at the end of the chain this isn't going to pan out for us at all. At most, we'll get some $20 or $30 off coupon towards the purchase of our next Intel CPU if we are lucky. Only the lawyers win here.
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I wonder if they'll say 1 coupon per person maximum...
 
nysmo said:
This isnt like the CPU isnt performing as intended. Just because someone finds a way to attack it doesnt make the product flawed. This isnt like the lug nuts on your wheels coming off while driving, or the brake pedal becoming stuck, or an airbag breaking your neck. If I pour sand in the gastank and cause your engine to seize how is that Toyota's fault? Meltdown/Spectre is just active sabotage of a known good product. Intel didnt do anything wrong here, just some geniuses discovered a bug lurking in the weeds for decades.
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You beat me to it, this exactly. Intel did not do anything malicious or wrong, they built a product that ended up having a flaw that someone can exploit, but it's not like it was a flaw they simply kept hidden. These processor's are complex, it's an unintended issue that took how many years to become found. It's simply not something you can sue over.

You don't sue your lock company if someone picks it and steals your stuff. This is the same situation.
 
If this lawsuit "wins" we might as well people to go after companies because somebody was killed by somebody else using their product.
 
Just sue them in small claims court, no high powered lawyers there and someone from Intel will have to fly out to fight it or you will win by default, most counties allow at least 5,000 in small claims and some are even higher.
 
Welp I would say I eagerly look forward to my $1.90 across how knows how many intel cpu's...but I don't have any of the receipts or even remotely remember where I got them soo...I'll just settle for one less soda that month.
 
I agree with this bit in particular from the Guardian article:

But the incident is likely to spur cloud companies to press Intel for lower prices on chips in future talks, said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh, which owns shares in Intel.

“What [Intel’s cloud customers] are going to say is, ‘you wronged us, we hate you, but if we can get a discount, we’ll still buy from you’,” Forrest said.
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I don't believe AMD will profit from this as much as they hope. Intel has big pockets. Sometimes, you go with the big guys with big assets because they have more to handle (compensate for) situations like this.
 
Trepidati0n said:
If this lawsuit "wins" we might as well people to go after companies because somebody was killed by somebody else using their product.
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um they already do that.

like those gm ignition lawsuits or the toyota unintended acceleration lawsuits.

that was the exact premise.
 
MMitch said:
I wonder if they'll say 1 coupon per person maximum...
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Probably. The fact that I probably own or have owned more than a dozen CPUs effected by this won't get me or anyone else special treatment.
 
Dan_D said:
For the consumer at the end of the chain this isn't going to pan out for us at all. At most, we'll get some $20 or $30 off coupon towards the purchase of our next Intel CPU if we are lucky. Only the lawyers win here.
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They will likely raise prices to make up the loss due to lawsuits. So in the end consumers get owner and pay for this. As with all class actions only lawyers win, all big corporations just settle and pay their way out often not even admitting any fault.
 
zkostik said:
They will likely raise prices to make up the loss due to lawsuits. So in the end consumers get owner and pay for this. As with all class actions only lawyers win, all big corporations just settle and pay their way out often not even admitting any fault.
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When Intel got sued over the FDIV bug, Intel did replace some of the effected processors which was good. However, Intel also launched a massive ad campaign which made them more popular than ever. It was part of the Pentium's success. I expect another marketing blitz to help them recover.
 
I'm glad you don't care if the government looks in on you to make sure you are a "good person". It makes my skin crawl though.
SixFootDuo said:
These Class Action Lawsuits are very important tools for consumer protection. So I wouldn't exactly start attacking the Attorneys.

This should have an impact eventually that will benefit consumers, hopefully.

Companies get lazy, take on other more important interests outside the scope of the traditional markets they initially served. Also new people come in, inherit projects they don't want or were not apart of and resist making changes they were tasked with. I would view any class action lawsuit as a sort of ... realignment. Who the hell really knows why these flaws were not fixed. You might even have bodies of Governments asking for delays due to there being some in-place benefit to these so called "chip flaws" they don't want to exactly lose at the moment ... the general public will never fully know what's going on. Trust me, a lot of people and money are against you. These class action lawsuits are the one small friend you have in an otherwise ARMY of people that are against you in regards to this flaw. Some of you guys need to open your eyes a lot wider than what you're doing.

It's a well known fact that outside bodies will work with chip makers to "product placement" back doors. These can be done thousands of ways. Is this really a flaw? How many other "flaws" do chips have and or undocumented features? I personally do not have a problem with the US Government making sure I'm a good person and that people in general behave. I have nothing to hide. If these flaws are put into place to catch people planning attacks on US soil or to bring down very bad people, then I think that's great. I'm almost positive the US Government is not too concerned with my collection of Big Wet Ebony Asses related porn.
Click to expand...
 
They designed a defective product that can leak info they deemed "secure" on a hardware level.

I don't know how the law treats unknown mistakes vs. intentionally covered up mistakes, but Intel's hardware is less secure than others.
 
I was already irritated they tested optane with x99 and locked it out.

Then there was the exposed mei that board manufactures are scratching their heads about.

Then they rushed 7th out with 8th right behind it soon

Then this known design flaw.

Plus TIM in spreaders.....

I'm personally done. When I can unload my 6850k and board I'll be in camp AMD.
 
viper1152012 said:
I was already irritated they tested optane with x99 and locked it out.

Then there was the exposed mei that board manufactures are scratching their heads about.

Then they rushed 7th out with 8th right behind it soon

Then this known design flaw.

Plus TIM in spreaders.....

I'm personally done. When I can unload my 6850k and board I'll be in camp AMD.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that AMD isn't the benevolent and honest underdog you would root for in a movie. AMD charges as much for CPU's as possible when it can get away with it. AMD's list of processor errata on it's CPU's is pretty frightening at times. Keep in mind that AMD's soldered on heat spreader hasn't helped it's chips clock anywhere near as high as Intel's CPU's do with a TIM. AMD has it's own share of problems and is far from being the Captain America of the CPU world some of you seem to think they are.
 
class action lawsuit yay.... drag on for years and then you'll get a $20 settlement... some lawyers will pocket millions and millions..

meh.....
 
Dan_D said:
Keep in mind that AMD isn't the benevolent and honest underdog you would root for in a movie. AMD charges as much for CPU's as possible when it can get away with it. AMD's list of processor errata on it's CPU's is pretty frightening at times. Keep in mind that AMD's soldered on heat spreader hasn't helped it's chips clock anywhere near as high as Intel's CPU's do with a TIM. AMD has it's own share of problems and is far from being the Captain America of the CPU world some of you seem to think they are.
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They won't care, no matter how much sense you make.
 
WhoBeDaPlaya said:
F*ck Saul, us Texans will call the Texas Law Hawk

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Awesome...

Welp, I am all for the class actions, just wish consumers actually got something worthwhile out of it. Have 8 devices with Intel processors right now...

Make that 11.
 
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Big pay day for the lawyers. That's why they were so damn quick to jump on the suit bandwagon in the first place.
 
Maybe they will offer replacement cpu's for those purchased in the past 3-6 months. Of course the hurry and sue may have thrown that out the window.
 
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