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iPhone class action roundup

What’s a product release these days without a healthy dose of class action lawsuits to go along with it? True to form, the iPhone has attracted more than its fair share of negative legal attention. In the interest of fully informing you, our faithful readers, we’ve decided to do a little mini-roundup of the most significant iPhone-related class action lawsuits and formal complaints to date. Buckle up, folks.

Illinois: Jose Trujillo, a resident of Cook County, IL has brought suit against both Apple and AT&T, alleging that the two companies mislead its customers in regards to the iPhone’s battery. Trujillo seems to think that both Apple and AT&T were engaged in a concerted conspiracy to trick buyers into thinking that the iPhone’s battery was user replaceable. We’ll be the first to admit that the iPhone’s battery design is a pain in the badonkadonk, but did the two companies actively try to defraud the public? Trujillo and everyone that signs on to the lawsuit most likely knew full well what type of battery situation they were buying into when they scooped up the phone. If not immediately clear, the situation is undeniable when the phone is removed from the packaging. Anyone that was unhappy with a non-user replaceable battery had at least 14 days to return the thing. Sorry, Trujillo and Co. This one sounds like it might be DOA.

New York: While this one hasn’t formerly evolved into a class action suit, it certainly seems to be headed in that direction. The New York Consumer Protection Board, a state-run consumer advocacy group, has formally expressed their concerns about the iPhone battery, as well as Apple’s warranty replacement program. In an open letter to Apple, the CPB denounced the iPhone’s non-user replaceable battery and chided Apple for providing sub-par customer service (just imagine what would have happened if this had been the Dell Phone). The board actually wants Apple to "redesign the iPhone to provide for a replaceable battery." Whoa. They also want Apple to extend their return policy from 14 to 30 days and remove the 10% restocking fee they currently assess. Again, decent sentiment, but you buy an iPhone, you know what you’re getting. If you don’t like the design, don’t buy the product. It’s pretty simple. Is anyone really that upset that they can’t replace the iPhone battery?

16 comment(s) for this post.

  1. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 10:48 am, Synergy Said:

    Gotta love the nanny state chaperones.
    Maybe they can get VP Cheney to sue the pacemaker manufacturer since he cannot change the battery himself too.

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  2. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 11:02 am, test5477 Said:

    this is whats wrong with the american legal system, people sometimes get paid for being stupid.

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  3. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 11:06 am, eJay Said:

    @ Synergy -ROFLMFAO!!!!

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  4. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 11:20 am, bye_bye_jack Said:

    yeah, i wonder if i can sue the company that made my toothbrush since i can’t replace the bristles every six months and have to buy a whole new brush.

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  5. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 11:27 am, Shaun Said:

    What a joke. I can’t believe it has come to this

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  6. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 11:46 am, victor Said:

    It seems everyone in america is sue happy! Why would people buy the product knowing they can’t replace the bat.

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  7. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 12:21 pm, b.N Said:

    that’s kinda the point, Victor.. the lawsuit is saying they were mislead.

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  8. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 1:06 pm, bsic Said:

    LOL love the toothbrush comment.

    I have no problem with this, the battery will last the better part of 2 years and by then ill certainly want to upgrade anyways (if i hadnt already done so).

    Plus, its not like the battery will completely die in 400 charge cycles (or whatever the quote is…) just 80% of its life. Not to mention that 400 complete cycles does NOT mean “400 times of plugging it in to charge”. People are just looking for a way to make a quick buck off of Apple’s success.

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  9. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 2:23 pm, test5477 Said:

    bsic, could not have put it better myself.

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  10. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 3:30 pm, Galvatron Said:

    LMAO i knew the embedded memory would come to bite aple to the core. I supose they will sue next over on how the phon is itunes driven ,or the non removable sim card , or non upgradabl flash memory an lack ofmicro SD slots

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  11. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 4:24 pm, sean Said:

    beatifully said synergy, lmao!!!
    maybe i can sue someone cause i cant replace the battery for the dildo stuck up my a**, lol.

    just kidding about the dildo comment ;)

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  12. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 4:55 pm, ajadoniz Said:

    good one, synergy. i agree that if you don’t like you shouldn’t buy it. but i think what the lawsuit is saying is: The consumer is depending on Apple too much, when I pay $600 I want to be able to own the whole phone and not depend on the manufacturer to hold my hand while replacing my battery.

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  13. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 5:02 pm, test5477 Said:

    no this is the epitome of “frivolous lawsuit”, aja are you saying this is justified??? and Gal, keep trolling buddy.

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  14. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 5:27 pm, RR Said:

    It reminds me of when the iPod first came out and people cried about the same thing. I don’t own an iPhone and won’t until you can copy and paste. But if you battery dies and you don’t have apple care. I think it is time to get a new phone anyway cause it will be at least 2 years down the line. Also, if you had to have an iPhone this early I am sure you will be on to whatever the hot knew phone is at the time.

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  15. On Jul 31, 2007 @ 8:25 pm, David Said:

    Absolutely ridiculous. The battery issue was widely announced, covered, and complained about long before the product was available. There is no fraud involved. No one was misled.

    “While this one hasn’t formerly evolved into a class action suit…”

    I believe you mean “formally.”

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  16. On Aug 1, 2007 @ 1:56 am, 42doh Said:

    I’ve got no problem with the battery, but my AT&T service is miserable. I’ve dropped more calls in the last three weeks on my iphone than in 3 years with sprint. Is anyone talking about this and is there any hope that it might get better?

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