Creative MP3 Player Class Action Proposed Settlement – Creative Labs Admits it ‘Exaggerated’ Storage Capacities [Discounts Offered To Appease]

Creative Labs have now admitted that it has previously 'exaggerated' the
storage capacities of its MP3 players, hopefully bringing to end a class
action (specifically Case No CV 05 3375) as filed by Vibhu Talwar and
Patrick Finkelstein in United States District Court, Central District of
California and leaving Creative Labs somewhat red faced - full details
of the proposed settlement, in which Creative offer discounts on new
Creative MP3 players to affective parties, are provided below.

Full text of the proposed settlement:

From: Settlement Claim Administrator

Subject: Notice of Creative Hard Disc Drive MP3 Player Class Action and
Proposed Settlement

If you purchased in the United States between May 5, 2001 and April 30,
2008 from a retail store in the United States (including
Creative’s and others’ on-line retail stores) a new Creative
brand hard disc drive MP3 player ('Creative HDD MP3 Player'), a proposed
class action settlement may affect you. A hearing has been scheduled in
United States District Court, Central District of California to approve
the settlement. Under the settlement, you may have the right to make a
claim for a discounted MP3 player or a discount certificate. You also
may choose to exclude yourself from the settlement. Alternatively, you
may file written objections to the settlement or seek to intervene and
appear (or have your own attorney appear) at the court hearing. If the
settlement is approved and you do not exclude yourself, you give up the
right to sue for the claims the settlement resolves, and you will be
bound by the terms of the settlement. To learn more about or exercise
any of your rights, please read below and visit
www.creativehddmp3settlement.com.

The lawsuit is Talwar v. Creative Labs, Inc., United States District
Court, Central District of California, Case No. CV 05 3375 FMC. In the
suit, plaintiffs allege that in the sale and marketing of its hard disc
drive MP3 players Creative stated that purchasers of the drives would
receive approximately 7% more usable storage capacity than they actually
received and misrepresented the number of songs and number of hours of
music the players could hold. Creative has denied and continues to deny
each and all of plaintiffs' claims, and denies that anyone has been
harmed or deserves compensation. The Court has not made a decision on
the merits.

You are a member of the plaintiff class if you purchased in the United
States between May 5, 2001 and April 30, 2008 from a retail store in the
United States (including Creative’s and others’ on-line
retail stores) a new Creative brand hard disc drive MP3 player.

As part of the settlement, Creative will make certain disclosures
regarding the storage capacity of its hard disc drive MP3 players.

In addition, if you submit a valid claim, you will receive either a 50%
discount off the price of a new 1 GB MP3 player, or a discount
certificate good for 20% off the price of any single item purchased at
www.us.creative.com. To receive the discount player or discount
certificate you must submit a claim form available at
www.creativehddmp3settlement.com by August 7, 2008. You may submit a
claim for each Creative HDD MP3 Player you purchased.

If the settlement is approved, plaintiffs' counsel will apply for an
award of attorneys' fees and expenses not to exceed $900,000, plus
incentive awards for the two representative plaintiffs in the amount of
$5,000 each, to be paid separately from and in addition to the relief
available to plaintiff class members.

All claims of plaintiff class members which were or could have been
asserted in the litigation, based upon the facts alleged in the
litigation will be released. This means that if you do not exclude
yourself from the plaintiff class, you will give up the right to sue for
the claims the settlement resolves, and you will be bound by the terms
of the settlement.

You need not take any action. If you wish to exclude yourself from the
plaintiff class, you must submit an exclusion request to plaintiffs'
counsel: Brian R. Strange/Gretchen Carpenter, Strange & Carpenter, 12100
Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1900, Los Angeles, CA 90025. If you exclude
yourself, you will not receive the benefits of the settlement, and you
cannot object to the settlement or intervene.

If you wish to object to the settlement, intervene or appear (or have
your own attorney appear) at the hearing, you must file your objection
with the Court and serve it on the parties' counsel, as follows: Brian
R. Strange/Gretchen Carpenter, Strange & Carpenter, 12100 Wilshire
Boulevard, Suite 1900, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (counsel for plaintiff);
and Daniel K. Slaughter, Stein & Lubin LLP, 600 Montgomery Street, 14th
floor, San Francisco, CA 94111 (counsel for Creative). To exclude
yourself, object or request to intervene, you must follow the detailed
instructions set forth in the Long Form Notice at
www.creativehddmp3settlement.com.

All objections, requests to intervene and requests for exclusion must be
received by June 9, 2008.

Those wishing to gain further information concerning this case can do so
via the Creative HDD MP3 Settlement page.

Full text featured as already in the public domain [Thanks Paul].