A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Apple and AT&T in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland over the iPhone 4. The lawsuit is (obviously) focused on the iPhone 4's reception issues when held. The allegations in the complaint (which is embedded below), include:

• General Negligence (APPLE and AT&T)
• Defect in Design, Manufacture, and Assembly (APPLE)
• Breach of Express Warranty (APPLE)
• Breach of Implied Warranty for Merchantability (APPLE and AT&T)
• Breach of Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose (APPLE and AT&T)
• Deceptive Trade Practices (APPLE and AT&T)
• Intentional Misrepresentation (APPLE and AT&T)
• Negligent Misrepresentation (APPLE and AT&T)
• Fraud by Concealment (APPLE and AT&T)

Many of these lawsuits have come and gone during the iPhone's life (from Gen 1 to now). This one might have legs, however, unless Apple can come up with a software fix. While still unclear, antenna experts pointed to the design as possibly problematic weeks before the iPhone 4's release. Additionally, testing, although admittedly not by those a court would deem experts, seems to point to a definite flaw as well.

Things have gotten so bad for Apple that competitors have begun mocking the iPhone 4, which sees its issues when the bare phone is held in particular ways, especially in the left hand. Others, with high-profile and competitive devices about to launch, even highlight the issue in ads.

This lawsuit was filed by Ward & Ward, PLLC and Charles A. Gilman, LLC. on behalf of Kevin McCaffrey, Linda Wrinn and a number of other iPhone 4 users. It is separate from the one that appears the offing. In that case, law firm Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff (KCR) has begun soliciting iPhone 4 customers over their experiences with the iPhone 4's reception issues.

KCR is the same firm that filed a class action lawsuit in 2009 against Facebook and social gaming company Zynga over"special offer" ads in Zynga's popular Facebook games.

Update: it's been revealed that two other class-action lawsuits have been filed. Both were filed in California, Apple's home state. The California cases are Alan Benvenisty v. Apple, 10-2885, and Christopher Dydyk v. Apple, 10-2897, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

Dydyk, for one, asked that Apple ship a bumper for free to customers who pre-ordered an iPhone 4 before its release or that the company be ordered to pay for customers’ bumpers. We've suggested in the past that we might start seeing bumpers included in iPhone 4 boxes, someday.




ECF 1 Complaint -