NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A federal class action lawsuit against Apple accuses the tech giant of being misleading in its smartphone water resistance marketing.
The complaint was filed by plaintiff Antoinette Smith on April 24 in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York.
According to the suit, Apple denies warranty coverage to devices that have water damage according to its internal liquid contact indicator.
However, the iPhone's manual allegedly directly contradicts that by stating a spill on the device of non-water liquids, such as coffee, soda, tea or alcohol, should be rinsed with water.
The complaint further accuses Apple of being elusive in the distinction of water resistant to waterproof, a difference that the lawsuit says the average consumer can't be expected to know, and denying consumers warranty coverage of expensive electronic devices that have been exposed to water under the device's listed exposure tolerance.
Apple is charged with violation of the Consumer Protection Statute, breach of express warranty and implied warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and unjust enrichment.
The class is represented by Sheehan and Associates PC of Great Neck NY.