Class Action Lawsuits and the New iPhone
Apple is not the only big company in the crosshairs of career attorneys; AT&T has been named in at least one of those suits in California, says the LegalAuthority.com founder. When complaints began rolling in the same day of the unit"s release, one company official was quoted as saying, "Just don"t hold the phone like that and the calls won"t drop". No doubt, loyal Apple followers were seeing red. One New Jersey lawyer says it"s his belief more of these suits will be filed in the coming weeks. With more than 1.7 million iPhones sold on the first day alone, it"s clear things are going to get a big iSticky with the iPod, iPhone and iPad makers.So what are the claims based on? A. Harrison Barnes says these suits include accusations of fraud by concealment, breach of warranty, negligence, intentional and negligent misrepresentation and defective designs. One of the lawyers says defendants have three options, holding the phone in an uncomfortable position, return their phones and face a 10% restocking fee or purchase an Apple bumper case for $30. None are acceptable, especially considering customers are dropping several hundred dollars already.
It appears to get worse for both Steve Jobs and Apple, says the LegalAuthority.com founder. After one customer posted a video that showed how touching the phone in one certain area resulted in a dropped call, the company contacted the customer and asked him to not post any further videos and to not fall victim to "rumor hysteria". Then the emails began. In what appears to be a very patronizing response to this customer"s complaints, the company now appears to be in a marketing crisis.
Most recently, it"s been announced the restocking fee has been waived for customers wishing to return their iPhones; however, this hasn"t been confirmed yet.
One thing"s for sure, lawyers across the country are watching this entire even unfold as more customers lose faith in their Apple products and the engineering team scrambles for a satisfactory fix before the company"s stock begins to drop faster than BP Oil"s stock in recent weeks. That may be something the two companies have in common - a nation of disheartened consumers who are now saying, "enough already".