Multiple class action lawsuits have been filed against Apple and AT&T in the last few days over the iPhone 4’s reported reception issues. One of the lawsuits claims that Apple’s release of the new iPhone with alleged antenna issues was “willful, wanton, malicious and oppressive.” The suit goes on to charge Apple with “general negligence,” “breach of warranty,” “deceptive trade practices,” “intentional misrepresentation” and “fraud by concealment.”
On Friday, Apple released a letter to iPhone users responding to the reception issues. The letter began by insisting that most phones will suffer reception problems when held in a certain manner, but that Apple had investigated why some users are reporting reception loss that was more frequent than anticipated. Apple says that it has “discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars” to be a software problem, seemingly dismissing concerns that there is an antenna issue at all. The letter also claims that this issue has existed since the original iPhone.
The Sheena Law Firm in Houston has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple (but not AT&T). When contacted, the firm said that it had not had time to review Apple’s letter to users.
The lawsuit filed by the The Sheena Law Firm seeks to force Apple to pay damages for actions “including fraud and deceit, wanton and reckless acts of commission and omission, and outrageous and malicious conduct.”
Danny Sheena, one of the lawyers working on the suit, explained that because Apple is not recognizing the reception issues as a defect, iPhone 4 users must pay a 10% restocking fee to return their device. He also said that the Galveston, Texas client who initiated the firm’s class action suit against Apple “contacted Apple, and Apple basically said ‘go away.’”
Sheena’s client’s experience is backed up by a leaked internal Apple document posted on June 29th by Boy Genius Report which instructs customer service employees to “not perform warranty service” and to tell users to “avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band.”
The document emphasizes to employees that “[Apple is] NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers [cases]–DON’T promise a free bumper [case] to customers.”
Jason Scofield, an attorney working with Mr. Sheena, said that “Apple’s response so far has not been pro-consumer.” Explaining why the lawsuit was necessary, Mr. Sheena stated that “based on the statements that Apple has made in the press, I don’t believe they will solve this problem without being forced to.”
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