Cupertino-based Apple Inc. has been busy writing firmware to
lock the iPhones
and iPod Touches from third party applications and unlocking. Now after trying
to put out one
literal iFire, as predicted in a
previous DailyTech article, Apple Inc. has found itself the target of
not one, but two separate lawsuits seeking class action status.
Apparently Apple's answer to owners of frozen iPhones that they should “buy a
new phone” did not go over well.
One lawsuit was filed
at the state level by Saratoga
attorney Damian Fernandez, who is representing California resident Timothy
Smith.
The federal
suit was filed by the offices of Hoffman & Lazear in Oakland and
Folkenflik & McGerity in New
York, on behalf of two individuals Paul
Holman and Lucy Rivello; both
iPhone owners.
The federal case accuses Apple of unfair business
practices, violations of antitrust laws, violations of telecommunications laws
and violations of warranty laws. It states that by disallowing user
modification of phones to work on other networks, Apple and AT&T willfully
and knowingly intended from the initiation of their partnership to maintain a
monopoly.
The suit further points to Apple's actions with its
latest firmware update which unlawfully restrict consumer choice by preventing
people from "unlocking" their iPhones, locking out third party
applications from its file system and disabling unlocked iPhones turning them
into "iBricks."
The suit officially stated that it did not know how
large the effective class would be, but filed it under 100 or more. The
firms are predicting big though -- they stated that they think the "there
will be millions" who will join the class action.
Part of the dilemma is in knowing how many unlocked
iPhones there are. Hundreds of thousands of copies of the unlocking
software have been sold or downloaded. Adding in the numbers of people
who performed hardware hacks and the number of unlocked iPhone owners may be
100,000 or more. This would be significant portion of the iPhone
population, which currently numbers around 1.3 million.
The civil suit accused Apple and AT&T of similar
violations, only on a state level in California. It says Apple and
AT&T willfully violated many state laws in engaging in its monopolistic and
malicious behavior.
Damian Fernadez, the attorney who filed the state suit
explains in court documents what Apple is accused of:
Apple punished
consumers for exercising their rights to unlock their iPhones. Apple
issued a software update that 'bricked' or otherwise caused iPhone malfunctions
for consumers who unlocked their phones and installed the update. Apple's
unlawful trust with AT&T substantially lessens competition and tends to create
a monopoly in trade and commerce throughout the entire United States.
The suit demands a jury trial. It asks the court to issue an order to
Apple to unlock iPhones and support hacked iPhones. Finally, it is
seeking unspecified monetary damages.
Apple spokeswoman Susan Lundgren and AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel both declined
to speak to the media, despite request on Wednesday.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has in the past compared Apple's war against unlockers to
a game of cat and mouse. His comparison now seems to border on comedy as
it appears that after being battered and hunted, the "mouse" has
turned and is now attacking "the cat."
When Apple Inc. and AT&T's actions drew the companies into the spotlight,
it seemed inevitable that a class action suit would be on the way. Now as
user anger has erupted at Apple and AT&T, they face not one but two class
actions suits. Likely more damaging than any possible outcome will be the
negative light that the coverage of these cases will cast on both
companies. Apple Inc., which regained leadership as a mainstream tech
firm by portraying an rebellious outsider image, will now have to face
unpleasant comparisons to its corporate rivals, whom it once poked fun at.