Judge Tosses Apple iPhone Class Action Lawsuit

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A class action lawsuit filed against Apple Inc. over allegedly false claims it made about the iPhone’s capabilities to connect to a wireless network following a software update in 2013 and led him to incur costly data charges was tossed by a California federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila said that he dismissed the Apple iPhone class action lawsuit because plaintiff David Yastrab of New York had not shown how he had been misled by Apple’s representations.

Yastrab had alleged in his iPhone class action lawsuit “that users of the of the iPhone 4, 4s, and 5 experienced reduced functionality as a result of installing iOS7, ‘essentially forcing consumers to render their iPhones obsolete.'”

The New York man claims that he purchased his iPhone 4s in April 2012, and that when he bought the phone he saw claims that Apple had made about the phone’s “ability to download future iOS updates, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection, ability to backup data via iCloud and the ability to run apps via a Wi-Fi connection.”

Yastrab says that he would not have purchased the phone if he had not seen those alleged misrepresentations by Apple, and he says that Apple used these features in advertising campaigns “to induce consumers to purchase the iPhone over other smartphones.”

According to the iPhone class action lawsuit, after Yastrab downloaded the new operating system (iOS7) in 2013, his Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections were disabled, or “grayed out.” Due to this alleged problem he was “forced to use [his] cellular network connection for all features requiring an internet connection,” which meant that he “incurred ‘unanticipated monthly data usage charges'” with his cellphone company and that the phone had “significant reduced value and utility.”

The New York man wants to represent a class of iPhone users “who experienced loss or reduced functionality” from upgrading iOS and a subclass of nationwide iPhone 4s users “who experienced a loss of Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth functionality after downloading iOS 7.”

Yastrab charged Apple with violating the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), the California Unfair Competition Law (UCL), breach of express warranty, intentional misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation.

However, Judge Davila says that Yastrab failed to explain how the alleged false advertisements and representations about the iPhone had reached him and what was contained in the ads that led him to buy the iPhone 4s. Therefore, the California federal judge said that Yastrab had not shown how the California consumer protection law was violated by Apple.

For that reason, he dismissed the allegations based on the CLRA and the UCL, but said that he had until April 8 to refile the class action lawsuit, clarifying Judge Davila’s objections.

“Indeed, despite the complaint’s length, the misrepresentation allegations are made up of nothing more than unadorned references to Apple’s advertising campaign and marketing materials, and do not describe even one specific item that plaintiff allegedly viewed or where and when he viewed it,” the California federal judge said.

“It cannot be, as plaintiff argues, that it is enough under Rule 9(b) to nebulously reference a product’s advertising package and just declare the campaign misleading for a claim under the CLRA,” he added.

Yastrab must include specific statements he read or saw that he believes were misrepresentations, the judge said.

Judge Davila also dismissed the representation and breach of express warranty allegations because Yastrab did not cite a specific statement with an “explicit guarantee.”

Apple is represented by David M. Walsh, Kai S. Bartolomeo, and Adam M. Sevell ofMorrison & Foerster LLP.

Yastrab is represented by Lauren Elizabeth Karalis, Mark S. Reich, Samuel H. Rudman, and Shawn A. Williams of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP.

The Apple iPhone Class Action Lawsuit is Yastrab v. Apple Inc., case number 5:14-cv-01974 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.