2 April 2021, 11:38 pm EDT By The new Apple MacBook Pro laptop computer is seen during a product launch event on October 27, 2016 in Cupertino, California. ( Stephen Lam/Getty Images ) Apple had known about the defective displays observed in Macbook Pro models released in 2016, a federal judge ruled. The ruling comes after the defect, dubbed as "Flexgate," was confirmed when iFixIt revealed the issue in a report. Apple's Design Oversight and Denial On Thursday, Apr. 1, 9to5 Mac reported that U.S. District Judge Edward Davila had allowed the class-action lawsuit against Apple to continue after allegations that the MacBook Pro exhibited a "stage light" fault and the company denied warranty repairs.