LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A Los Angeles County, California has filed a suit against Apple over allegations the company failed to inform users that their iPhones would reject chargers because of a future update.
Monica Emerson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on Feb. 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Apple Inc. and Does 1-10 over alleged violation of the California False Advertising Act and Unfair Business Practices Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff purchased an iPhone 7 in September 2016 and the following month, she received a message that stated "This accessory may not be supported" when she tried to use her charger.
In November 2016, "thousands of Apple iPhone owners in the United States and other countries started experiencing problems with their old Apple iPhones, since the phones stopped recognizing and accepting their chargers," the suit states.
The plaintiff alleges Apple "forced updates" to the phones that programmed the devices to reject chargers from properly charging.
"The class members were not informed by Apple Inc. of this plan to program a rejection of old iPhone chargers. Apple Inc.’s goal was to program the iPhone, after their sale to class members, so that said iPhones would no longer accept their chargers. This forced plaintiff and class members to be forced to either purchase new iPhones or new chargers, which cost approximately twice as much, in order for Apple Inc. to greatly increase its profits to the detriment of class members," the suit states.
The plaintiff holds Apple Inc. and Does 1-10 responsible because the defendant allegedly forced modifications without iPhone owners' consent.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment for actual and punitive damages, attorneys' fees, costs, pre- and post-judgment interest, and all other relief deemed reasonable by the court. She is represented by Todd M. Friedman and Adrian R. Bacon of Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman PC in Woodland Hills, California.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 2:19-cv-00829-DSF-E