Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
It’s common for early versions of a new technology to suffer from some kinks that still need to be worked out, but usually, developers find remedies for those problems in later versions of the technology. Unfortunately, Apple allegedly failed to find a fix for their defective Apple Watch screen, according to a recent consumer class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which was filed in California, is seeking $5 million in damages – enough to take the case to the federal level if a judge agrees to certify the class and the parties agree that federal court is the best venue for arguing the case.
The lawsuit alleges Apple Watch screens are prone to shattering, cracking, and popping out through no fault of the wearer. According to the complaint, Apple knew about this problem when it started selling its smartwatches (and possibly even earlier), but failed to do anything about it. The problem allegedly started with the very first Apple Watches the tech giant ever sold and has continued through Series 3, which is the latest version to be sold by the company.
Although Apple forums are full of complaints about the Apple Watch screens, Apple refuses to publicly admit the devices have a problem. The only step the company has made toward remedying the situation is to offer extended warranty plans for certain versions of the Apple Watch for screens that had popped out as a result of a battery swelling issue. Apple announced in spring of 2017 that it would begin offering these extended warranty plans.
But the consumer class action lawsuit alleges Apple’s policy was to deny the existence of the problem, blame the screen’s malfunction on the wearer causing damage to the watch by accident, and then refusing to honor the warranty. Offering an extended warranty doesn’t do consumers any good if the company refuses to honor said warranty.
The consumer class action lawsuit is claiming Apple violated both state and federal laws by continuing to sell a product it allegedly knew was defective and then refusing to do anything to fix the problem.
With the latest version of the Apple Watch selling for as much as $400 each, and the Series 1 still going for $250, it’s no wonder consumers are upset that the smartwatch for which they paid so much money isn’t living up to their expectations. The Apple brand has long been synonymous with quality, high-end products, which is why people are willing to cough up so much money for each of their new products.
But Apple doesn’t just want to be the best. In today’s extremely fast-paced world of technology, being the first to launch a new product or technology is of the utmost importance. If Apple is rushing products onto shelves before thoroughly testing them to make sure they’re free of all potential bugs, the company could end up turning away more customers than it gains. This consumer class action lawsuit, combined with another over Apple’s butterfly keyboard, are just two examples of how the company has been disappointing its customers lately.
Our Oak Brook, Illinois consumer rights private law firm handles individual and class action gift card, data breach, privacy rights, deceptive advertising, predatory lending, unfair debt collection, lemon law, and other consumer fraud cases that government agencies and public interest law firms such as the Illinois Attorney General may not pursue. Class action lawsuits our law firm has been involved in or spear-headed have led to substantial awards totaling over a million dollars to organizations including the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center, and local law school consumer programs. The Chicago consumer lawyers at Lubin Austermuehle are proud of our achievements in assisting national and local consumer rights organizations to obtain the funds needed to ensure that consumers are protected and informed of their rights. By standing up to consumer fraud and consumer rip-offs, and in the right case filing consumer protection lawsuits and class-actions you too can help ensure that other consumers’ rights are protected from consumer rip-offs and unscrupulous or dishonest practices.
Our Elgin and Aurora consumer attorneys provide assistance in data breach, privacy violation, fair debt collection, consumer fraud and consumer rights cases including in Illinois and throughout the country. You can click here to see a description of the some of the many individual and class-action consumer cases our Chicago consumer lawyers have handled. A video of our lawsuit which helped ensure more fan friendly security at Wrigley Field can be found here. You can contact one of our Naperville and Evanston consumer protection, gift card and data breach attorneys who can assist in consumer fraud, consumer rip-off, lemon law, unfair debt collection, predatory lending, wage claims, unpaid overtime and other consumer, or consumer class action cases by filling out the contact form at the side of this blog or by clicking here. You can also call our toll-free number at 630-333-0333.