Apple PowerBook and iBook Settlement, up to $181.7 million

Apple Inc agreed to a settlement that will cost the Cupertino-based company between $57.5 and $181.7 million to pay refunds of $25 to $79 to as many as 2.3 million computer owners. Customers who bought certain replacement adapters for PowerBook and iBook computers are eligible for the refund.

U.S. District Court Judge James Ware granted preliminary approval of the agreement March 24 to resolve claims that some of Mac power adapters were prone to spark, according to documents filed in federal court in San Jose.

The adapter “dangerously frays, sparks and prematurely fails to work,” the plaintiffs said in court filings. The class-action suit, filed in 2006, alleged that Apple misrepresented problems with the power adapters. In 2001, Apple recalled about 570,000 adapters sold with PowerBooks after reports of overheating.

The recall affected cords for the PowerBook G3 notebooks shipped from May 1998 until March 2000, but not those used for the iBook consumer laptops or the newer Titanium PowerBook G4. At that time, Apple advised customers to stop using the adapters and offered free replacements.

Apple will give cash payments to customers who bought an adapter made by Apple or another company to replace a failed one, according to court documents. A hearing on final approval of the settlement was scheduled for September 8.