As the old saying goes, the wheels of justice turn slow…I think there’s more to it, but the wheels of aphorism actually turn even slower. Last year, a man by the name of Jose Trujillo—whom, as we noted, was probably not a reader of our blog—launched the first (but far from the last) class action suit against Apple over the iPhone. Now, according to Bloomberg, that suit has been dismissed.
Trujillo alleged that Apple misled customers by not telling them that the iPhone battery was not user-replaceable and also that the battery would require annual replacement, with Apple charging $86 for the service. Like many, I’ve had an iPhone for over year, without replacing the battery—though I did, however, replace it with a new iPhone 3G, so maybe he should sued over planned obsolescence.
U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly put the kibosh on the case with a summary judgment. That summary?
“Apple disclosed on the outside of the iPhone package that the” battery has “‘limited recharge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by Apple service provide,…Under the circumstances, no reasonable jury could find that deception occurred.”
But while Apple may be out of the woods, their partner-in-alleged-crime, AT&T, may not be so lucky. The wireless provider, who was also named as a defendant, attempted to force the matter into arbitration, as their terms of service stipulate, but Judge Kennelly denied the request, saying that Trujillo didn’t have paper copies of the terms of service at the time he bought the phone. A hearing has been scheduled for September 29th.
And so, the wheels of justice continue to turn…