Apple Hit With Second iPhone XR Class Action Lawsuit

Class claims alleged defects should be covered under Apple's warranty; refusing is violation of Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

Posted by Craig Randall

May 19, 2020

Tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is facing a second class-action lawsuit over connectivity issues related to the iPhone XR. The new suit was filed by Ahdoot & Wolfson PC. on behalf of the class in the San Jose Division of the United Stated District Court/Northern District of California and alleges that the XR's antenna array is inferior to other iPhones and causes connectivity issues and dropped calls.

The prior XR complaint was filed by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP on April 6, 2020. The Hagens Berman suit was also filed in the San Jose District.

The lawsuit is the third class-action suit filed against Apple in a one-month period. The additional class-action suit involves Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro's "flexgate" scandal, and alleges that a design flaw causes the screen on Apple's flagship laptop to fail after repeated use. The "flexgate" suit was filed on May 6, 2020, the day after the second iPhone XR suit.

The complaint addresses the iPhone XR's 2x2 MIMO antenna array, which are inferior to the 4x4 MIMO array's found on some of Apple's prior products such as the iPhone XS and XS Max models. The suit states that Apple's customers "reasonably expected the latest Apple product to have the most advanced technology," but the 2x2 array represents a step backward.

Apple claims the iPhone XR is "free of defects."

The Plaintiffs accuse Apple of deceptive business practices. In addition, they accuse Apple of violating California's consumer protection acts, adding that "Apple has breached its express and implied warranties." The suit states "Apple breached and continues to breach express warranties because at the time of sale, the iPhone XR contained defective technology found in the 2x2 MIMO antenna arrays. This breach, the suit claims, is a violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a federal law that was enacted in 1975. The federal statute governs warranties on consumer products.

The suit seeks "monetary compensation for the defects with the iPhone XR’s connectivity and performance," as well as attorney's fees.

A copy of the complaint can be found here, in addition to the first XR complaint which can be opened here.

For a copy of the 15-inch MacBook Pro complaint can be viewed here.