Steven Cohen  |  April 17, 2020

Category: Consumer News

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Costco Wholesale Corporation by a consumer claiming the AirPods he bought did not feature wireless charging.

Plaintiff Jason Thomas says Costco advertised a misleading promotion on their website which described the Apple 2nd Generation AirPods without including the charging case, which should have come with the 2nd Generation Apple AirPod product.

Costco misled the plaintiff with their advertisements of the AirPods which are capable of wireless charging, when, in fact, the product that was sold is an unknown hybrid mix that was not capable of wireless charging, Thomas maintains.

The plaintiff states that the false advertisements allowed the defendants to gain a market share in their industry, which is an unfair advantage to their competitors.

Thomas alleges that he purchased the product from the defendant on March 24, 2020. He believed that he was buying the latest version of Apple’s 2nd Generation AirPods, a product that is capable of wireless charging and comes with a wireless charging case.

He argues that the defendant purposely omitted the fact that, while the AirPods may have been 2nd Generation, they could only be charged via wired method using an Apple lightning cable or a third-party equivalent. 

The defendant allegedly omitted any reference to how the product was capable of being charged, compared to its competitors, who had differentiated between the versions of the AirPods sold on their site, and made it clear which products required wired charging.

The Apple AirPods class action lawsuit states that the only reference to how the AirPods get charged was under “product details” where the description stated “AirPods with Charging Case.”

As a result of the false advertisements, the plaintiff and other Class Members purchased hundreds of units of the product and have suffered injury in fact through the loss of money and property, Thomas maintains.

The Costco class action lawsuit claims the company violated the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and negligent representation.

Thomas says that by failing to disclose that the Apple AirPods did not have wireless charging and concealing the true makeup of the product, that Costco also violated California Civil Code section 1770(a) in that it misrepresented the AirPods characteristics when it, in actuality, did not.

The Costco class action lawsuit states that the defendant was under a duty to the plaintiff to disclose that the AirPods sold were not complete and true 2nd Generation Apple AirPods with wireless charging.

The misrepresentations and the facts that were not disclosed to the plaintiff and putative Class Members are material in that a reasonable customer would have deemed them to be important in deciding whether or not to purchase the product, the Costco class action lawsuit goes on to say.

If he had known that he was not receiving the latest model of AirPods complete with wireless charging, Thomas states that he would not have purchased the product.

The Costco class action lawsuit argues that Costco held its products as the latest version of the 2nd Generation AirPods which included a wireless charging case and was capable of wireless charging even though the product that was sold required wired charging.

“Defendant’s advertising and promotion of the product were, and are untrue, and misleading and likely to deceive the reasonable consumer and the public,” the Costco class action lawsuit states.

In addition, if Costco had truthfully advertised that its product was not the latest version of the 2nd Generation Apple AirPods, the plaintiff says that he and other Class Members would not have purchased a different product from the manufacturer.

Thomas says that as a direct result of the misleading advertisements, the defendant received and continues to hold monies that rightfully belong to the plaintiff and prospective Class Members who were led to purchase the product from the defendant.

“By advertising, promoting, manufacturing, and selling its product in violation of California law, the defendant engaged in a pattern of ‘unlawful’ business practices,” the Costco class action lawsuit maintains.

The common questions of law and facts in this Costco class action lawsuit include: 1) whether the products were actually advertised as the latest 2nd Generation AirPods; 2) whether the products were actually 2nd Generation AirPods; 3) whether the defendant’s conduct is an unfair and fraudulent act or practice; 4) whether the defendant acted negligently or intentionally in making the misrepresentations contained on the Costco website; and 5) whether the plaintiff and Class Members are entitled to injunctive relief.

Did you buy AirPods at Costco thinking wireless charging was included? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Ramin Rezaie Hariri of Hariri Law Group and Daryoosh Khashayar of Khashayar Law Group.

The Costco AirPods Class Action Lawsuit is Thomas v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. 3:20-cv-00718, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: On June 15, 2020, plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against Costco fought back against the wholesale giant in a false advertising claim involving Apple’s 2nd Generation AirPods.

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62 thoughts onCostco Class Action Claims AirPods Wrongfully Advertised

  1. Rejeana Turner says:

    I literally had the same experience – please add me!

  2. Dorita Burd says:

    Yes I did purchase please add
    me.

  3. Teresa Weymouth says:

    I was so angry I stomped on them (should have returned them)
    Please add me?

  4. John A. Deus says:

    Please add my name to the Class Action suit.
    I too purchased the 2nd Generation AirPods from COSTCO here in Suffolk County, NY believing that the product as advertised(2nd Generation) was capable of wireless charging. Instead, the AirPods are 2nd Generation but Costco sold them without the 2nd Generation wireless charging case.
    As a result, COSTCO misrepresented the product which they were selling and I bought a product which was not the product which COSTCO sold as stated and as presented for sale.

  5. Karen Gordon says:

    Me!!

  6. Danny Ahn says:

    I bought the false second gens too.

  7. Darius Miles says:

    Pls add me Bought 2 pair

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