Apple Computer’s iPod Nano music player, marketed for its sleek beauty, cannot withstand normal use without becoming severely scratched, often to the point where its screen is unreadable, a consumer group said today in a lawsuit filed in San Mateo Superior Court. Moreover, Apple is refusing to give refunds to purchasers who bought the defective product, while forcing others to pay a $25 fee to get a replacement that is supposed to be ‘free’ under Apple’s warranty.
The suit, brought against Apple Computer, Inc. under the state’s consumer protection laws on behalf of California purchasers of the recently-introduced Nano, demands that Apple recall and repair the defect, without charge, or refund the purchase price to dissatisfied customers. The lawyers in the case are the Burlingame, California-based law firm of Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy, and attorneys of the non-profit, Los Angeles-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR).
Reports of problems with the Nano became apparent within a few weeks of its introduction last fall, with many consumers complaining on the Internet. Apple has acknowledged there is a problem, at first urging customers to buy a third party cover. Apple now supplies a ‘sleeve’ to cover the Nano.
“Selling ‘cool’ stuff isn’t ‘cool’ if the stuff doesn’t work as advertised and Apple fails to comply with its obligations under its warranty and California laws,” said consumer advocate Harvey Rosenfield, a lawyer for FTCR in a statement. “Like every other industry, Apple must fix products that are defective for free, and refund the costs incurred by its customers.”
“We sent Apple a letter asking that they acknowledge and remedy the problem,” said Bruce Simon, co-lead counsel and partner in the Cotchett firm in a statement. “They chose to not even respond and left us no choice but to bring this case.”
The lawsuit notes that many Nano users pay substantial additional money purchasing music and videos on Apple’s iTunes web site. The iPods, including the Nano, are the only portable devices on which iTunes downloads can be played.
FTCR is a citizen advocacy organization that works in the legislative and judicial arenas. In recent years it has sued cell phone companies, automobile insurers and HMOs for illegal practices. In a previous case against Apple, resolved last year, the Cotchett firm forced the company to offer replacement batteries, or a replacement iPod, for customers whose iPod batteries had failed after only a few years of use, and to issue refunds for certain charges.
More info in the complaint (.pdf) here.
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Brilliant.
My nano is defective. I keep downloading videos for and the screen is so scratched that I can’t see them play.
Heh.
I’d love to know what percentage of Apple’s operating costs is eaten by Apple’s legal department.
My car gets dirty when I park it outside, so it is defective.
My glasses get scratched when I drop them, so they are defective.
My television doesn’t entertain me when I turn it on, so it is defective.
Unethical lawyers pander to idiots, so they are defective.
I’d love to be an Apple lawyer.
Anyone care to guess whether this action was brought by PC users? Anyone care to guess how long it takes to find a Microsoft connection to this one–like the one in Louisiana?
MDN Magic Word: “about” – We all know what this is really about.
America’s Achilles heel: a legal system that encourages idiotic (and costly) lawsuits.
’nuff said.
P.S. Don’t like nano’s casing? Don’t buy one!
My Chevy has a bunch of scratches on it from driving through the neighbors bushes.
Do I go after Chevy for defective paint or the neighbors for scratchy bushes?
Can I get some advise from a hungry lawyer?
Funny, last I checked, Apple has basically been replacing them for free with no questions asked. Have these people actually asked Apple for one first before running to their lawyers?
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1510
“The iPods, including the Nano, are the only portable devices on which iTunes downloads can be played.”
That’s funny, I could have sworn you could burn your music to an audio CD and play them on a Discman. I could have also sworn that you could then rip the audio from those burned audio cds into MP3s that can play on pretty much every digital audio player and many mobile phones and PDAs.
I must be mistaken…
i bought a nano on day of release, i also bought a screen protector because screens (of any sort scratch) hmmm mixed feelings on this i think
As with all high tech devices, you should take care of your iPod. Do you throw your LCD monitor in your trunk? Do you throw your laptop in the floor of your car when you are traveling? Wake up people!
I agree, the entire iPod line scratches to easily, regardless of how careful you are with them. Apple should strive to improve the surface and finish of them in the future.
*too easily
Legal maintenance is a standard expense these days. I honestly doubt that each new lawsuit adds expense, as Apple has a full-time legal team already paid to deal with this.
Lawsuits are just something corporations deal with on a day-to-day basis. The media likes to trumpet the filing of each new suit as an earth-shattering event, but the corporation just shrugs and adds it to the pile. Apple’s lawyers will determine whether these guys have a case. If they do, Apple will settle. If not, the case will drag forward over the next few years. Meanwhile, life goes on, and Apple keeps selling iPods.
OH MY GOD!
The paint has faded on my house after being exposed to sunlight for three years!
Lets sue the building contractor for making such a crappy house!!!
Oh my God!
I am ashamed to admit that I am, in fact, a lawyer. WAIT, before thowing rotten fruit, hear me out. You see, I am so sick and tired of all the ridiculous lawsuits it makes me want to disassociate myself from my profession. Something HAS to be done about the state of the legal system in America. It encourages frivolous lawsuits from people without meritorious claims by allowing them to prosecute their case without any risk whatsoever. You see in America, as long as I can get a lawyer willing to work on a contingent basis (which is by far the most common financial arrangement for this type of suit) I can a file a lawsuit against anyone without personal risk. If I win I make millions, if I lose I am not out ANYTHING. For the lawyers, its even better than the lottery because the odds are better. You take all the cases that have ANY chance of winning (even bad cases have some chance of winning or settling) and when they do (or the other party settles because its too expensive for them to defend every case at trial) the “winnings” more than make up for the time spent on cases that are lost or dismissed. A class action is even better because the winnings are much bigger. In many cases the actual plaintiffs receive pocket change (literally) and the lawyers make millions.
Apple is in the envious position of making a lot of money by having great products that people want to buy (including me). That is, there are a lot of people out there that are envious of their money and want some of it for themselves. Unfortunately Apple will now need to spend millions on legal fees even if they win every suit. If they lose one or two because of the insanely stupid decision of a jury here and there (a common result and the reason why many cases are settled rather than going to trial), it will cost them even more. All this will be passed on to you and I in the form of higher prices for Apple’s products, less capable products that are crippled to avoid lawsuits (like an iPod that is incapable of attaining a high volume) or simply the lack of certain products altogether, which the company deems too likely to result in high legal fees. This is already happening in the medical arena where medical devices and drugs are available in other areas of the world, like Europe, but not in the US.
At least two things need to happen to help solve this: 1. The US needs to adopt the “loser pays” system that is common in other parts of the world – including Europe. This would require the loser to pay the other party’s legal fees if they lose. So if you bring a stupid suit against Apple because your iPod didn’t make you breakfast in the morning and you lose, you would have to pay Apple’s legal fees to defend against your suit. This sounds entirely reasonable to me, but wait for the hue and cry from special interest groups and plaintiff’s attorneys saying that this leaves the poor little guy with no legal redress against the big bad evil corporate empires. Actually, they still have redress, they just need a meritorious claim.
2. This one is more difficult: People need to start taking personal responsibility for their actions. I am not sure how this can be done. Maybe the battle is already lost. I don’t see a legal or political solution to this. I think it may boil down to good parenting and education.
Until such changes are made perhaps Apple should put a big sticker on every item they sell stating in big letters, multiple lanugages and international symbols “If you are an idiot, please don’t by this.” OK I know they wont do that, but it would make a point.
Apple won´t win this one….ecspecially in a California court.
Fed Up Lawyer –
I can´t afford a lawyer, will you represent me for free?
I (so help me god this is true) left my iPod NANO in my shirt pocket and threw the shirt in the wash. It went through a complete wash cycle, then a complete dry cycle.
IT STILL WORKS JUST FINE.
Define “defective.”
Just took a look at the FTCR website. What a bunch of wild ass liberal left wing CRAP.
Hope Steve Jobs is happy with his political affliliations now.
The question is: “Is there any real scratch-proof or scratch-resistant plastics that can be used that won’t add a tremendous cost?”
I have a scratch-resistant coating on my glasses, but even-so, it still scratches. I’m beginning to wonder about people who expect these things to be indestructible. It’s a piece of technology people! It is not, and I repeat NOT, a brick!
I have a 3G iPod and yes, it has scratches on the display, but not any more than on my watch or my glasses.
MDN-“activity” as in: There is too much legal activity from stupid people!
Fed Up Lawyer — this sort of pukerama is becoming common over here in the UK too…
…also ‘Health & Safety’ issues are turning us into a culture that’s frightened of its own shadow. One of my unfavourite examples is a much-treasured woodland walk, in which some officious do-gooding b*****d has hung red ‘danger’ signs from every other tree, presumably in the expectation that you just might walk into them. Who knows? Madness…
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“Fed Up Lawyer –
I can´t afford a lawyer, will you represent me for free?”
Can I obtain your services or products for free?
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In England if you lose a lawsuit, you pay the court costs and the other party’s costs, thereby eliminating frivolous lawsuits.
We use most of England basic law rules, why was this one eliminated?
Oh yes, by Congress, because most of them are ambulance chasing lawyers–or were, before feeding from the public trough.