(Image courtesy of AppleInsider)
It didn’t take long for the vultures to circle: Apple’s hot new iPhone 4 has barely been in most customers’ hands for a week, and already a trio of class-action complaints have been filed against the company over reception issues.
AppleInsider is reporting that class-action lawsuits against Apple have now been filed in California, Maryland and Texas over the iPhone 4 reception problems -- and there may very well be more on the way. The biggest complaint was filed in a U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, with a list of 11 plaintiffs residing in both California and New Jersey; the others feature only one plaintiff each.
Among the accusations are that Apple is in “violation of the Federal Communications Act, three counts of product liability related to negligence, defect in design and breach of implied warranty, intentional and negligent misrepresentation, fraud by concealment, unfair business practices and more.”
The California complaint sums it up: “The iPhone 4 manifests design and manufacturing defects that were known to Defendants before it was released which were not disclosed to consumers, namely, a connection problem caused by the iPhone 4's antenna configuration that makes it difficult or impossible to maintain a connection to AT&T's network.
"Defendants have failed to provide customer support to assist iPhone 4 customers regarding this defect. Consumers are left with three options: hold their phones in an awkward or unnatural manner, return their phones and pay 10% 'restocking fee,' or purchase Apple's own 'bumper' cases for their phones, costing $29.99 in addition to the premium they have already paid for the phones themselves, which may somewhat ameliorate the iPhone 4's defects."
Also targeted in all three complaints is exclusive carrier AT&T, which alleges that they “helped to design, manufacture and market the new iPhone 4.”
The Oakland suit seeks damages (of course) but also is seeking an injunction against both Apple and AT&T in an effort to force them to “undertake an informational campaign” so the public at large is aware of the “wrongfulness” of their corporate practices. The class action complaint was filed on Wednesday, just a week after early iPhone 4 units started to arrive in the hands of customers lucky enough to pre-order theirs back on June 15.
Not surprisingly, the Oakland suit was filed by Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff, LLP -- the very same law firm that recently went sniffing for clients for a potential class action lawsuit over the iPhone 4.
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gabriel465
July 12, 2010 at 5:26pm
Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii.
I cant believe these people complaining about something so irrelevent. Try living out here with only 2 or 3 bars max and we still get by just fine. As for your complaint about the $29 bumper case, I got 3 for less than that price as well as screen protectors to boot. Took all of time to order as it took the associate at the counter to program the second iPhone 4 I purchased opening day. To sum it up, as I walked out the door with mine and my fiance's brand new iPhone 4 with only a 3 hour wait, we had out cases on the way. Mine looks like a tire tread and she has 2 prism type in red & purple. The screen protectors went on with no bubbles and leave no fingerprints. Additionally, your finger glides across the screen easier..
Sorry about your problems in the Big City, feel free to keep them there as we are doing just fine without.
