LEGAL NEWSLINE

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - A class action lawsuit has been filed against Apple Inc. after consumers claim the company requires consumers who use credit cards to provide personal identification information it doesn't need.

Adam Christensen, Jeffrey Scolnick and William Farrell purchased products from Apple retain stores in 2012 and 2013 on Massachusetts, according to a complaint filed Jan. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts at Boston.

The plaintiffs claim to consummate each purchase, the plaintiffs elected to use their credit cards as the chosen form of payment and, as a condition of using credit cards, they were required by Apple to enter personal identification information associated with the credit card, including their full and complete ZIP codes.

Apple would not allow the plaintiffs to complete their purchases without supplying such information, according to the suit.

The plaintiffs claim Apple: Is not required by credit card issuers to require this information from consumers; recorded their ZIP codes into an electronic credit card transaction form; and continues to store the information.

Consumers "value their personal data highly, and place an economic value on the privacy of that data," the complaint states.

The plaintiffs claim Apple violated the Massachusetts Unfair Trade Practices Act and have been injured by Apple's collection of their ZIP codes in connection with their credit card transactions.

More than 30 days prior to filing suit, the plaintiffs made a pre-suit demand pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws and Apple did not accept the terms of the demand, according to the suit.

The plaintiffs claim Apple's failure to accept the terms of this demand was made in bad faith, because Apple has knowledge or reason to know that the practice complained of does, in fact, violate Massachusetts General Laws.

The plaintiffs are seeking declaration that the defendant's actions violated Massachusetts General Laws, statutory damages, treble damages and pre- and post-judgment interest. They are being represented by Alexander Shapoval and Joseph J. Siprut of Siprut PC.

The case has been assigned to District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock.

Apple has been involved in multiple class action lawsuits in recent years.

Two separate groups of iPhone and iPad users sued Apple in December 2010, alleging that certain software applications were passing personal user information to third-party advertisers without the users' consent. In April 2011, Apple agreed to amend its developer agreement to stop the passing of personal information from happening, except for information directly necessary for the functionality of the apps.

In 2009, a group of consumers filed a class action against Apple on behalf of consumers who purchased iTunes gift cards and were then unable to use the cards to purchase iTunes music at the price advertised on the card because Apple raised the price of music after it sold the cards to consumers. A settlement providing class members with an iTunes store credit of $3.25 was awarded to consumers who submitted an online claim before Sept. 24, 2012.

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts at Boston case number: 1:14-cv-10100

From Legal Newsline: Kyla Asbury can be reached at classactions@legalnewsline.com.