HP can't win by fighting
If 1.7 million people think HP supplied them faulty floppy drives, then it ought to be obvious to anybody with an ounce of common sense that at least 1.6 million of them are unlikely to be mistaken.
So why is HP unnecessarily tarnishing its image by fighting the case, thus hammering home the message that HP is happy to sell defective goods and is more interested in wasting money trying to have the case thrown out than paying these good people what they deserve.
The case is several years old and best left to be forgotten -- but the only way that will happen is for HP to do the honourable thing and pay up.
If the law works in the same way as in the UK, then theoretically the buyers should sue the sellers, and the sellers should sue HP. But that still doesn't stop HP from making it easier for all by admitting a problem and providing a free fix.