Beaton v SpeedyPC Software

The Court authorized this Notice to explain that the Court has allowed, or “certified,” a class action lawsuit that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you may exercise in this case, as described below. Judge Andrea R. Wood of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is known as Beaton v. SpeedyPC Software, No. 1:13-cv-08389 (N.D. Ill.).

This lawsuit claims that Defendant SpeedyPC deceptively advertised and sold the SpeedyPC Pro Software as capable of enhancing a personal computer’s speed, performance, and security by detecting and repairing harmful errors, threats and viruses, but that it does not and cannot perform all of the functions advertised. The lawsuit claims that, through this conduct, SpeedyPC breached the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose and merchantability and violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. SpeedyPC denies those allegations and any wrongdoing.

In a class action, a person called the “Class Representative” (in this case, Archie Beaton) sues on behalf of a group of people who may have similar claims. The people together are a “Class” or “Class Members.” The individual who sues is called the Plaintiff. The company he sues (in this case, SpeedyPC) is called the Defendant. In a class action, the Court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.

The Court decided that this lawsuit can be a class action because it meets the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class actions in federal courts. Specifically, the Court found that:

• Thousands of individuals downloaded the free version of the allegedly fraudulent Software and then purchased the full version of the allegedly fraudulent Software;

• There are legal questions and facts that are common to each of them;

• Archie Beaton’s claims are typical of the claims of the rest of the Class and Subclass;

• Mr. Beaton and the lawyers from Edelson PC representing the Class and Subclass will fairly and adequately represent the interests of the Class and Subclass;

• The common legal questions and facts outweigh questions that affect only individuals; and

• This class action will be more efficient than having many individual lawsuits.

More information about why the Court is allowing this lawsuit to be a class action is in the Court’s Order Re: Class Certification, which is available in the “Court Documents” section of this Web Site.

This lawsuit claims that Defendant SpeedyPC deceptively advertised and sold the Software as capable of enhancing a personal computer’s speed, performance, and security by detecting and repairing harmful errors, threats and viruses, but that it does not and cannot perform all of the functions advertised. 

The lawsuit claims that, through this conduct, SpeedyPC breached the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose and merchantability and violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. You can read a copy of the Plaintiff’s Complaint in the “Court Documents” section of this Website. 

Defendant SpeedyPC denies that it did anything wrong or violated any laws. It contends that the Software operates as advertised. You can read SpeedyPC’s Answer and Affirmative Defenses to Plaintiff’s Complaint in the “Court Documents” section of this Website.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiff or Defendant is right. By establishing the Class and Subclass and issuing this Notice, the Court is not suggesting that the Plaintiff will win or lose in this case. Unless the case settles, Plaintiff must prove his claims at trial or through legal motions to recover money or other benefits.

The Plaintiff is asking the Court to award each Class Member monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial. Plaintiff is also asking the Court to enter an order prohibiting SpeedyPC from engaging in the allegedly wrongful and unlawful acts at issue in the lawsuit. SpeedyPC denies that Plaintiff and the Class Members are entitled to anything.

The Court certified a Class and a Subclass, each defined as follows:

• Class: All individuals living in the United States who downloaded a free trial of SpeedyPC Pro and thereafter purchased the full version between October 28, 2011 and November 21, 2014.

• Subclass: All Class Members who reside in Illinois.

To exclude yourself from the Class or Subclass, you must mail or otherwise deliver a letter (or request for exclusion) stating that you want to be excluded from Beaton v. SpeedyPC Software, No. 1:13-cv-08389 (N.D. Ill.). Your letter or request for exclusion must include your name, email address, mailing address and your signature. You must mail your exclusion request no later than July 13, 2020 to: 

                                                                   SpeedyPC Class Action Lawsuit

                                                                              c/o Administrator

                                                                                PO Box 5324

                                                                   New York, NY 10150-5324

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want to hire your own lawyer, you certainly can, but you will have to pay that lawyer yourself. For example, you can ask him or her to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.

As long as the case is not decided through legal motions or settled, Class Counsel will have to prove the Plaintiff’s claims at a trial. The trial will be heard at Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, Illinois 60605, but a trial date is not yet scheduled. During the trial, a Jury or the Judge will hear all of the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether the Plaintiff or SpeedyPC is right about the claims in the lawsuit. There is no guarantee that the Plaintiff will win or that he will get any money for the Class and Subclass.