Apple Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Waterproof iPhone Claims
Montreal, Canada- September 8, 2024 – Apple is facing anotherlegal battle, this time over its claims of water resistance in its high-end iPhone models. A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Quebec, Canada, alleging that the company misrepresents the capabilities of its devices and fails to honor its warranty when iPhones are damaged by water.
The lawsuit, filed by lawyerJoey Zukran, centers around a 19-year-old student who suffered water damage to her iPhone while on vacation in Mexico. Despite Apple’s advertising that its iPhones can withstand immersion in water, the student’s phonebecame unusable after being dropped in a swimming pool. When she took the phone to an Apple service center, she was informed that the damage was not covered under warranty due to water ingress.
Zukran argues that Apple’s warranty termscontradict its advertising claims, violating consumer rights. He asserts that many users have experienced similar situations where Apple has refused to repair water-damaged iPhones, despite the company’s marketing emphasizing their water resistance.
The lawsuit seeks to force Apple to remove the exclusion of water damage from its warranty terms and provide compensation to users whohave had to repair or replace their iPhones due to water damage. Zukran is also demanding an additional $500 payment to each member of the class-action suit.
This is not the first time Zukran has taken legal action against Apple. In 2018, he successfully sued thecompany to address issues with iPhone battery warranties.
The issue of Apple’s iPhone water resistance claims has been a point of contention for some time. In 2022, a US judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, ruling that the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that the waterdamage was the cause of their phone malfunctions. However, in 2020, Italian regulators fined Apple €12 million for exaggerating the water resistance of its iPhones and failing to clearly state that the advertised water resistance was only achievable under laboratory conditions.
If Apple loses this latest lawsuit, it could have significant implicationsfor the entire smartphone industry. It would force manufacturers to include water damage in their warranty terms, providing better protection for consumers.
The lawsuit highlights the growing consumer frustration with companies making bold claims about their products, only to offer limited or no warranty coverage when those claims fail to hold up in real-world situations. Itremains to be seen how Apple will respond to this latest legal challenge and whether it will lead to changes in its warranty policies and advertising practices.
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