Intuit QuickBooks Pro® for Mac Corrupt Software Updater

Malfunctioning Software Updater – QuickBooks Pro® 2006 for Mac and QuickBooks® New User Edition 2006 for Mac

The content of this page has not been approved by the Court nor does it constitute legal advice. It is for the purpose of providing general information only.

IMPORTANT NOTE
This matter has been certified as a class action and a settlement agreement has been approved by the Court. Settlement benefits can be claimed after June 2, and for a further period of 90 days. Please note that claim forms must be filed by August 31, 2009. Below are copies of the notice of settlement and claim form.

Notice of Settlement Claim Form

All claim forms must be sent to the Claims Administrator at the following address:

Claims Administrator
Quickbooks®2006 for Mac Settlement
c/o The Garden City Group
P.O. Box 9293
Dublin, OH 43017-4693
1-800-961-2931
1-800-263-0489 ext.775

QuickBooks Pro for Mac is an accounting and bookkeeping software program relied upon by small businesses across the country. On January 31, 2008, a Statement of Claim was issued against Intuit Canada and Intuit Inc. on behalf of a class of users of QuickBooks Pro 2006 for Mac software who experienced a malfunction in connection with a software updater. As is currently known, the malfunction may have occurred one of two ways:

  1. The class member accessed the software between December 15, 2007 and December 17, 2007; or
  2. The class member accessed the software before January 3, 2008 through a publicly available wireless network that requires payment for use (eg. a “walled garden”).

The lawsuit alleges that the malfunctioning software updater caused data or files to become inaccessible or damaged, corrupted or lost either temporarily or permanently. Further, the deletion of critical system files and user data is alleged to have compromised the normal operation of the class members’ computers.

The claim alleges negligence, trespass to property and fundamental breach of contract against the Defendants.

The claim seeks compensation for, among other things:

  • the loss of system files and user data
  • the investment of time by each of the class members in their attempts to recover lost data and to restore the functionality of their computer systems
  • the cost of consultation with information technology professionals
  • the cost of hardware and software purchases in order to recover lost data and computer function
  • business losses arising from the damages caused by the software updater

Harrison Pensa LLP will be working in concert with Paul Bates of Bates Barristers and is consulting with the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (www.cippic.ca) at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa on this matter.

Status of the Proceedings

This matter has been certified and a settlement agreement has been reached with the Defendants. The decision of the Court certifying the matter and a copy of the settlement agreement are posted under ‘Court Documents’ below. Further, the first notice to class members was sent by registered mail and by e-mail, where possible, on Friday, March 21, 2009. A copy of the first notice to class members is posted under ‘Court Documents’ below. The settlement was approved at a hearing which took place on Thursday, May 21, 2009 in Toronto.

The Settlement

If the settlement is approved, class members in Canada will be fully reimbursed for all documented expenses incurred in connection with their data recovery efforts (eg. data recovery software, services of third party data recovery vendors, and hardware reasonably necessary for data recovery efforts) that were incurred on or before April 30, 2008.

Class members in Canada will also be reimbursed for third party data reconstruction expenses (eg. attempts to re-create the lost data) and in-house attempts to recover or reconstruct lost data that were incurred or spent on or before April 30, 2008. These data reconstruction reimbursements will be capped at 20 hours at $75 USD. These payments may be reduced on a pro-rata basis if the total amounts claimed for these data reconstruction expenses by class members in Canada and the United States exceed $500,000.00 USD. Notice will be given to you if a reduction is proposed. You will be given the opportunity to remove yourself from the settlement. Intuit may also agree to pay the full amount of the claims in excess of $500,000.00 USD.

Click the links below for copies of the claim form which must be completed and sent to the Claims Administrator on or before August 31, 2009.

Contact particulars for the independent Claims Administrator are below.

Claims Administrator (Canadian Action)
c/o The Garden City Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 9293
Dublin, OH 43017 – 4693
Toll –Free Number – 1-800-961-2931
www.2006QBforMacSettlement.com

All potential class members are immediately encouraged to compile documentation and other information in support of claims for reimbursement such as:

  • expenses incurred prior to April 30, 2008 in respect of data recovery hardware and/or software plus any shipping and handling
  • expenses incurred prior to April 30, 2008 in connection with a third party data recovery vendor
  • hours spent prior to April 30, 2008 on in-house data recovery/reconstruction
  • expenses incurred prior to April 30, 2008 in respect of third party data reconstruction (as opposed to data recovery)

Court Documents

Class Members

If you have questions related to this action, please contact Jonathan Foreman.

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