Apple faces several recent lawsuits

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Apple lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Apple is involved in a number of class action lawsuits and litigation, including cases before the Supreme Court. 
• Why: The lawsuits involve Apple’s products, investors and an agreement with Amazon, among other things. 
• Where: Consumers nationwide use Apple products.

A number of complaints involving Apple have recently been in the headlines, including a new class action lawsuit, ongoing class action litigation and claims brought before the Supreme Court. 

Apple fails to disclose lack of charging block with sale of iPhone 14 Pro, class action says

Last month, a consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Apple over claims the technology company failed to adequately disclose purchase of its iPhone14 Pro smartphone device does not include a charging block. 

The consumer behind the class action lawsuit argues that without a charging block, the iPhone 14 Pro smartphones are unusable without the separate purchase of a charging device. 

Apple is accused of only disclosing in small print on the back of the boxes that a power adapter and headphones are sold separately. 

“Purchasers of the iPhone 14 Pro who realized their expensive and high tech smartphone could not be turned on without the essential wall plug were shocked,” the iPhone class action states. 

Apple must face claims CEO Tim Cook misled investors about sales pressure in China

A federal judge in California ruled late last month that Apple will not be able to escape a class action lawsuit accusing CEO Tim Cook of misleading investors by saying the company was not facing sales pressure in China. 

Cook is accused of making the allegedly false claims during an analyst call in November 2018, during which he listed several countries where the company faced sales pressure but did not include China.

In January 2019, Apple allegedly told its suppliers to curb production only a few days after the sales call, unexpectedly slashing its quarterly revenue forecast by as much as $9 billion due to trade tensions with China, according to the Apple class action. 

The move caused Apple’s market share to lose $74 billion in value the next day and shares for the company to drop 10%, the class action states.

The judge overseeing the case, which was given class action status in February 2022, ultimately rejected Apple’s argument that Cook’s statements were merely his opinion and therefore protected. 

Apple, Amazon unable to escape claims they tried to eliminate competition from third-party merchants 

Also last month, Apple and Amazon were unable to escape claims they worked together to “eliminate or severely reduce” competition from third-party merchants selling Apple products. 

The judge overseeing the complaint declined for the second time to dismiss the class action lawsuit, ruling a consumer had plausibly alleged that the two companies have an agreement that is harming competition in the US marketplace. 

The consumer claims Apple and Amazon have a financially-motivated horizontal agreement that allows them to squash competition from third-party vendors selling Apple products at a heavy discount. 

The judge ruled it is yet to be determined whether the agreement between Apple and Amazon is stifling competition and the relationship between the two is not undoubtedly horizontal and unlawful, per se. 

Supreme Court declines to hear claims Apple iPhones contain radiation exceeding federal regulations

In May, the Supreme Court declined to hear arguments made against Apple by a group of consumers claiming iPhone’s made by the company have radiation levels exceeding federal regulations. 

In January, a group of consumers asked the high court to reverse a decision made by the Ninth Circuit, which ruled the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had broad regulatory powers over wireless devices. 

Apple argued that taking away regulatory control would breach an intent by Congress to have a radiation limits standard applied nationwide. 

Apple asks Supreme Court to review decision in largely beaten claims it monopolized App Store payment options

Earlier this month, Apple asked the Supreme Court to review a decision involving claims the company violated antitrust and anticompetition laws with its alleged firm grip on its app store payment options. 

Apple also asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to stay a mandate while the Supreme Court has a chance to review the case. 

Fortnite developer Epic Games brought the claims, which allege the tech giant prohibits app developers from steering consumers to alternative payment options. 

Apple came out of the class action lawsuit largely victorious, with a California federal judge ruling Epic Games failed to prove its claims; however, the judge did order an injunction on so-called anti-steering rules. 

Have you been impacted by one of the Apple lawsuits? Let us know in the comments.

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