Apple and Sony have decided to settle at least one lawsuit stemming from the whole lithium-ion battery debacle of '06. And who can blame them at these bargain basement prices. The two companies are jointly paying a Japanese couple a total of about 1.3 million yen (that's $12,903) for damages to their home and burns the man sustained while trying to remove his flaming Apple computer from the house. The couple argued this fire was caused by a defective Sony lithium-ion battery.

To date, Sony has recalled 9.6 million of these occasionally unstable batteries with the help of some major laptop manufacturers, including Apple, Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer.

Apple, while accepting liability in the case, insisted it would not settle the dispute out of court because the couple had demanded excessive compensation (they were asking for 2 million yen). Despite agreeing to pay its share of the settlement, Sony still maintains there was no link between the fire and the battery.

[Dow Jones]