An 8 Count Class Action lawsuit has been filed against Apple Inc. in Illinois by residents Brianna Castelli, Karen Lyvers and Matthew White. Their formal complaint states that "This action arises from Apple’s concealment of a material defect that ultimately causes iPhone audio features to become unresponsive and fail of their essential purpose as smartphones, called the "Audio IC Defect."

The complaint further states: "Apple has long been aware of the Audio IC Defect, yet, notwithstanding its longstanding knowledge, Apple routinely refuses to repair the iPhones without charge when the Audio IC Defect manifests.

Many iPhone owners communicated with Apple’s employees and agents to request that Apple remediate and/or address the Audio IC Defect and/or resulting damage at no expense. Apple failed and/or refused to do so.

As a result of Apple’s unfair, deceptive, and/or fraudulent business practices, owners of the iPhones, including Plaintiffs, have suffered ascertainable losses. The unfair and deceptive trade practices committed by Apple were conducted in a manner giving rise to substantial aggravating circumstances.

Had Plaintiffs and other Class Members known about the Audio IC Defect at the time of purchase, they would not have bought the iPhones, or else would have paid substantially less for them.

As a result of the Audio IC Defect and the monetary costs associated with attempting to repair it, Plaintiffs and the Class Members suffered an injury in fact, incurred damages, and otherwise have been harmed by Apple’s conduct

Accordingly, Plaintiffs bring this action to redress Apple’s violations of the various states’ consumer fraud statutes, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of implied warranty, unjust enrichment, and for violations of the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

Under the sub-header "The Audio IC Defect" the complaint in-part reads as follows:

"Unbeknownst to consumers, the iPhones suffer from a material Audio IC Defect that leads to audio failures. As a result, consumers experience poor sound or complete failure of the sound system.

Often, the Audio IC Defect impacts the time it takes for the device to power on, a complete failure of the phone’s Voice Memo application, an inoperable speaker function, and other issues associated with the phones’ sound system, including but not limited to making ordinary telephone calls.

Upon information and belief, the Audio IC Defect results from a problem with the iPhone’s external casing and the location of the audio IC chip on the iPhone’s logic board. The materials used in the iPhone’s external casing are insufficient and inadequate to protect the internal parts—including the audio IC chip—in light of reasonable and foreseeable use by consumers.

Apple has advertised that the “iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus dramatically improve every aspect of the iPhone experience, reaching a new level of innovation and precision to make this the best iPhone we have ever made. The completely redesigned cameras shoot incredible photos and videos day or night, the A10 Fusion chip is the most powerful chip on any smartphone while delivering the best battery life ever in an iPhone, and an entirely new stereo speaker system provides twice the sound, all within the first water and dust resistant iPhone.”

However, the external casing of the iPhone is not sturdy, strong, durable, or drastically improved. Instead, it is manufactured from substandard materials that are neither appropriate for nor durable enough for the ordinary and expected use of the iPhone.

The motherboard located inside the iPhone (which Apple calls the “logic board”) contains an audio controller chip (referred to as the “audio IC chip”). An illustration of the logic board and the audio IC chip," is presented below.

The audio IC chip is responsible for all audio related functions in Apple’s iPhone operating system software, iOS.

From the first day of use, the Audio IC Defect exposes the internal components of the iPhones to increased stress and physical harm."

Causes for Action

• Count 1: BREACH OF EXPRESS WARRANTY
• Count 2: BREACH OF IMPLIED WARRANTY
• Count 3: VIOLATIONS OF THE MAGNUSON-MOSS WARRANTY ACT
• Count 4: VIOLATIONS OF THE ILLINOIS CONSUMER FRAUD AND DECEPTIVE
• PRACTICES ACT
• Count 5: VIOLATIONS OF THE ILLINOIS UNIFORM DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES ACT
• Count 6: FRAUD
• Count 7: NEGLIGENT MISREPRESENTATION
• Count 8: UNJUST ENRICHMENT

For more details on this case, review the full Class Action lawsuit filings below provided to you courtesy of Patently Apple

Audio IC Defect Class Action by Jack Purcher on Scribd

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