Eliezer Rabinovits and Victor Mazzeo of New York have filed a class action against Apple regarding the slowing iPhone battery issue. This is the fourth lawsuit filed against Apple this week and not exactly the publicity Apple wanted end 2017 with. The barrage of lawsuits comes after a brutal week of bad software problems that Apple's Phil Schiller tried to slough off as just a bad week.

Summary of the Action

The lawsuit begins with their Summary of the Action as follows: "This is a class action on behalf of owners of all versions of the iPhone 6 and/or iPhone 7 who were harmed when their devices' software was updated to any of the following: iOS 10.2.1 (released on January 23, 2017); iOS 10.3 (released on March 27, 2017); iOS 10.3.1 (released on April 3, 2017); iOS 10.3.2 (released on May 15, 207); iOS 10.3.3 (released on July 19, 2017) (collectively referred to as the "iOS 10 Update"); iOS 11.0.1 (released on September 26, 2017); iOS 11.0.2 (released on October 3, 2017); iOS 11.0.3 (released on October 11, 2017); iOS 11.1 (released on October 31, 2017); iOS 11.1.1 (released on November 9, 2017); iOS 11.1.2 (released on November 16, 2017); iOS 11.2 (released on December 2, 2017); and iOS 11.2.1 (released on December 13, 2017) (collectively referred to as "iOS 11 Update"). The iOS 10 and iOS 11 Updates caused Plaintiffs' and class members' devices to be significantly slower and interfered with the normal usage of the phones.

Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Apple Inc.engaged in deceptive trade practices and false advertising in violation of New York General Business Law 349 and § 350 when it represented that the iOS 10 and iOS 11 Updates were compatible with and support iPhone 6s and iPhone 7s. Specifically, Apple failed to warn iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 owners that the iOS 10 and iOS 11 Updates could significantly and negatively interfere with their phones' performance. To the contrary, Apple specifically touted the increased phone performance that would result from the iOS 10 and iOS 11 updates. Apple has since admitted however that, through the iOS 10 and iOS 11 Updates, Apple deliberately prevents chips in iPhone 6s and iPhone 7s from reaching their full processing power. In other words, instead of enhancing the performance of iPhone 6s and iPhone 7s as Apple represented, the iOS 10 and iOS11 Updates were designed to limit the devices' performance in certain circumstances.

Having updated their phones, Plaintiffs and owners of iPhone 6s and iPhone 7s must either continue using devices that experience significant lag time that interferes with their ordinary use, or purchase a new phone for hundreds of dollars."

The First Cause of Action: Violation of New York General Business Law § 349

The Second Cause of Action: Violation of New York General Business Law § 350    

The full lawsuit filing is provided to you below courtesy of Patently Apple.  

Eliezer Rabinovits v Apple Class Action by Jack Purcher on Scribd

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