Last week I received a letter in the mail informing me that I was a member of a class action lawsuit against Apple’s modern iPods. The portable music devices had apparently experienced a large-scale battery failure, the letter said, and it could do one of two things. I could accept the settlement offer and give up my own right to sue Apple individually over the battery, or I could opt out. If I signed up, Apple offered me a $50 gift certificate to the Apple Store. After speaking with my lawyer, I signed the sheet.

Was that correct? I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all had, or will all have, a similar letter regarding another product at some point. If we don’t immediately rule out what appears to be spam, the class notice may sound complicated enough to induce panic. In the midst of this panic, the second wave of valuable letters fell into the trash cans. Of all our options, this is probably the least recommended. You will lose nothing by participating in a class action and could gain a lot, especially if you value fairness and corporate responsibility.

So what is a class action lawsuit and why am I being contacted? Class action lawsuits are supposed to give ordinary people the ability to take on large corporations with reasonable expectations of fairness. After all, only one middle-class guy would get squashed by Apple’s best lawyers. You may not have lost much, you may have to recharge your iPod a couple more times a day, but rest assured Apple saved millions of dollars between this battery and the next best thing. They took a shortcut and the battery failed. The class action allows Apple (and this is just one example) to pay a little to a lot of people.

I was lucky, because Apple was already solving the case when I received the letter. There were no big legal battles, nothing protracted. If the case goes to court, class members must sign in or out at first. If you do not sign, you are still in the lawsuit and bound by the terms of the judgment. Only by specifically opting out of the class action can you opt out of it. If you opt out, you will not receive any of the rewards at the end, but you reserve the right to file your own lawsuit at a later time. The time frame available to make this choice is small, leaving you very little time to seek legal advice. If you can, do it! Lawyers can be expensive, but costs should be covered if you agree to the settlement and an initial consultation can be invaluable in making your decision. This should not be a gamble, but rather a carefully informed choice.

Receiving a letter in the mail or reading a published announcement about a class action lawsuit is the easy part. What happens if you have a problem, notice that your neighbors have the same problem, and the company in question does not respond? This is the time when you call a lawyer and start your own class action lawsuit. Your lawyer will call your lawyer and I guarantee that a company that does not return your individual phone calls will listen to your lawyer. Filing a class action lawsuit is not the easiest thing to do, but sometimes it is the only way to establish justice for consumers. When my iPod battery failed three years ago, I did not consider a class action lawsuit as an option, but I am very grateful that a brave individual took it upon himself to initiate the lawsuit. I now have more confidence in Apple for offering an easy settlement for their faulty product, and more confidence in the court system.