Apple is finding themselves being sued by two groups in class action lawsuits that accuse the tech giant of putting the safety of consumers at risk and not fully telling them how their products work.
The two separate lawsuits come on the heels of two other lawsuits that Apple has settled — a 2019 class action over iCloud storage servers that settled for $14.8 million in August 2022 and a MacBook keyboard settlement that’ll give customers up to $395 each. In both cases, Apple admitted no wrongdoing.
Now Apple is facing lawsuits regarding iPhone chargers, and the recently discontinued AirTag tracking devices. We’ll tell you all about these lawsuits and keep you up to speed on class action settlements — if the cases go that way.
Apple is being sued for no longer including a charger with the iPhone.
Elizabeth Steines, the plaintiff in the iPhone charger class action, claims that Apple began selling iPhones without the charger in 2021, and that this was not adequately disclosed to consumers.
In the class action lawsuit, filed Dec. 22, 2022, she argues that by selling the iPhone without a charger, the product is not adequate for its intended use and that consumers who don’t already own a charger are forced to spend more money to purchase one.
Apple has claimed that their decision not to include a charger with the iPhone purchase was for environmental reasons. However, Steines argues that Apple could have taken other measures to promote environmental sustainability instead of allegedly “rendering the product non-functional unless an additional purchase was made.”
Steines is accusing Apple of unjust enrichment, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract, as well as violating the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act and several state consumer fraud acts. She is asking for a court trial and wants the company to stop what they did wrong and also wants to get paid for any harm caused, including regular damages, damages required by law, and extra damages as a punishment — for her and all other people affected.
A second Apple class action lawsuit claims the Apple AirTag tracking device is being used by stalkers.
Apple is also facing a separate class action over their AirTag tracking device, filed in New York on Dec. 5, 2022. Plaintiffs Lauren Hughes and Jane Doe claim it’s the “weapon of choice” for stalkers and abusers. Hughes and Doe say that Apple ignored warnings about the inevitable use of AirTag in stalking and released the product.
The plaintiffs claim that there were immediate reports of stalkers using AirTag to track the whereabouts of their victims after the device’s release and that at least two murders have been reported in which the murderer used an AirTag to track the victim.
Hughes and Doe want to represent classes of iOS and Android device owners who were tracked with an Apple AirTag without consent. They are accusing Apple of unjust enrichment, negligence, intrusion upon seclusion, and violations of New York General Business Law and California’s Constitutional Right to Privacy, among other things.
They are also asking for a court trial and for the company to pay for any harm caused, including regular damages, damages required by law, and extra damages as a punishment.
Don’t expect to see a settlement anytime soon; legal proceedings will likely take years.
There’s a lot to know about class action lawsuits — and we’ve written it all down. The big thing to keep in mind? They take a long time to sort out.
If the iCloud settlement is any indication, both of these lawsuits — if not thrown out by a judge — could take years to settle. The iCloud lawsuit was originally filed in August 2019 and wasn’t settled for almost three years exactly. The MacBook keyboard settlement took even longer; it was originally filed in mid-2018 and settled in late 2022 — with final court approval still coming in March 2023.
So if you’re looking for any kind of settlement money, you’re better off bookmarking our class action settlements list, claiming any other money that’s owed you, and maybe sometime in 2026, these Apple class action lawsuits will be on the list.
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