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. Apparently the portable music devices had 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, 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 all have 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 action notice may sound so complicated as 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 have nothing to lose by participating in a class action lawsuit, and you 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, a single middle-class guy would be crushed by Apple’s best lawyers. You may not have lost much, you may have to recharge your iPod a few more times a day, but you can be sure that 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 lot of people a little.

I was lucky, because Apple was already solving the case when I received the letter. There were no big legal battles, nothing prolonged. If the case goes to court, class members must sign in or out at the beginning. If you don’t 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 in the end, but you do reserve the right to file your own claim later. The time period available to make this choice is small, leaving you with very little time to seek legal advice. If you can, do it! Lawyers can be expensive, but costs should be covered in the event you are on your side with 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, you notice that your neighbors have the same problem and the company in question does not respond? This is the time you call an attorney and start your own class action lawsuit. Your attorney will call your attorney and I guarantee that a company that does not answer your individual phone calls will listen to your attorney. 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 didn’t consider class action as an option, but I am very grateful that a brave person took it upon herself to initiate the lawsuit. I now have more confidence in Apple for offering an easy settlement for their defective product and more confidence in the court system.