Apple Class Action Claims Company Seizes Digital Content That Has Already Been Purchased If Payment Declines

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Apple Store Declined Payment Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Christopher Babeu filed a class action lawsuit against Apple Inc. 
• Why: Babeu claims Apple unlawfully seizes digital content and apps purchased from its App Store if a payment method is rejected during a new transaction.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts federal court.

Apple Inc. locks users out of digital content and apps they have already purchased from its App Store if a payment method is rejected during a new transaction, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Christopher Babeu claims Apple would need legal permission to be allowed to seize content that has already been purchased. 

“No part of the Apple Agreement allows Defendant to unilaterally seize, without a court order or any type of due process to consumers, all Digital Content and Apps owned by Apple customers whose payment method becomes invalid at any point in time,” the Apple class action lawsuit states.

Babeu says he had more than $10,000 worth of digital content and apps he’d purchased from the App Store frozen after he attempted to make a $39.52 purchase back in July 2016 with a payment method that his bank chose to decline. 

“Defendant immediately seized all of Plaintiff’s already-purchased Digital Content and Apps without a court order and/or without any legal right to do so,” the lawsuit states. 

Babeu claims Apple has refused to return any of the seized digital content to this day. 

Apple Breaches Its Terms of Service By Seizing Content, Plaintiff Says

Apple is breaching its own terms of service by preventing access to content that has already been purchased, as well as to content that triggered the purchase attempt, Babeu says. 

“To add insult to injury, Defendant even seizes the content that triggered the debt,” the class action lawsuit states. “In other words, Apple tries to collect on a debt for which the debtor received no property or benefit, thereby by effectively making the complained of debt illusory.” 

According to Apple’s own user agreement, the company is only able to prevent new purchases and app updates if it determines a users’ payment method is invalid, according to the class action lawsuit. 

Babeu claims Apple is guilty of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. He is demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with monetary damages for himself and all class members. 

Babeu wants to represent a Massachusetts class of consumers who had their digital content or apps seized during a time when Apple considered their payment method to be invalid. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed against Apple in October over claims the company failed to disclose that digital content purchased from its App Store is only for a license that can ultimately be revoked. 

Have you had your digital content seized by Apple following a declined payment? Let us know in the comments or click here to see if you qualify to join an Apple Seized Content Class Action Lawsuit. 

The plaintiff is represented by Erica C. Mirabella of Mirabella Law LLC and Michael R. Reese and Carlos F. Ramirez of Reese LLP. 

The Apple Store Declined Payment Class Action Lawsuit is Babeu v. Apple Inc., Case No. 1:21-cv-11967, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

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