Target class action overview:
- Who: An iPhone customer, plaintiff Jonathan Payton, is suing Target.
- Why: The plaintiff claims the company falsely marketed Target iPhones as “unlocked” — meaning they can be used with any carrier.
- Where: The Target iPhones lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court.
Target falsely advertises certain iPhones as “unlocked” when they are, in fact, locked and restricted to specific carriers, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Jonathan Payton filed the lawsuit against Target Corporation on Nov. 21 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.
The Target iPhones lawsuit alleges that Target’s deceptive marketing practices led thousands of consumers to pay a premium for phones they believed could be used with any carrier.
Lawsuit accuses Target of bait-and-switch scheme
Payton claims he purchased an iPhone 11 advertised as unlocked from a Target store in New York City last November.
However, when he attempted to activate the phone with AT&T, he discovered it was locked to Verizon’s network, he says. This forced him to make additional payments at a Verizon-affiliated store to unlock the phone, he says.
“If Plaintiff had known that the Phone advertised as being unlocked was actually locked requiring the payment of additional funds to ultimately unlock the Phone, he would not have purchased the allegedly unlocked Phone,” the lawsuit says.
According to the complaint, Target’s advertisements for unlocked iPhones — both online and in stores — mislead customers into believing these devices are compatible with all carriers, offering flexibility for users switching providers or traveling internationally.
The complaint alleges that locked phones require software and hardware specific to one carrier, limiting their usability. Consumers must often pay additional fees to unlock such phones, further adding to their frustration, it says.
As a result, Payton is looking to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased an iPhone advertised as unlocked from a Target store between November 2016 and the present day.
He’s suing for violations of New York’s General Business Law, breach of contract and unjust enrichment and seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
Meanwhile, consumers recently filed other class action lawsuits against Target Corp. over claims involving false advertising, product misrepresentation and biometric data collection. Click here for more information.
What do you think of the allegations in this Target class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Ross H. Schmierer of Kazerouni Law Group A.P.C. and Todd M. Friedman and Adrian Bacon of the Law Offices Of Todd M. Friedman PC.
The Target class action lawsuit is Jonathan Payton v. Target Corporation, Case No. 1:24-cv-08116 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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