Big blow to these Apple iPhone users! Court just dismissed the case

A court has just dismissed a case filed by Apple iPhone users over a problem they faced

The users claimed that Apple iPhone was not as water resistant as the company had advertised (Representative Photo) (REUTERS)

Just a few days ago, a federal court in the US dismissed a case against Apple brought in by Apple iPhone users. They accused Apple of allegedly misleading consumers about iPhone water resistance capabilities. These iPhone users claimed that the false and misleading representation by Apple had led the company to hike iPhone prices to a level that is twice as much as an average smartphone. They said the current cost of an iPhone is not justified. However, to their disappointment, the judge did not find enough merit in the claims against Apple iPhone and dismissed the proposed class action lawsuit.

A class action lawsuit or a class action suit (as more commonly used in India) is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties, usually the plaintiff, is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of the group. In simple terms, it is when a group of people accuse an entity or an organization of wrongdoing. In this case, the plaintiffs were three people, who were representing all iPhone consumers who bought the device after allegedly being misled by the advertisements.

Apple iPhone Water resistance capabilities

The main allegation of the plaintiffs were against the various advertisements made by Apple over iPhone's water resistance capabilities when submerged or exposed to water. Some advertisements even say that the iPhone can survive being submerged up to 13 feet of water for 30 minutes. But is the iPhone water resistant? The plaintiffs didn't think so.

However, US District level Judge Denise Cote said that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that Apple's ads could mislead consumers, but did not show their iPhone devices were damaged by liquid contact. As such, the allegations towards Apple could not be confirmed by the plaintiff's side and the judge found that the evidence was not strong enough to merit a full class-action lawsuit. The Apple lawsuit was deemed less than satisfactory.

The judge also did not find any proof of fraud and cited a lack of evidence that Apple intended to overstate its water resistance claims, or that the plaintiffs relied on fraudulent marketing statements when buying their iPhones. Judge Cote proceeded to dismiss the Apple lawsuit afterwards.

Spencer Sheehan, lawyer from the plaintiffs side, said that his clients were disappointed with the decision. He further added that no decision has been made on making further appeals for the same case. Apple did not make a comment or release any statement regarding the issue.