iPhone battery suit nixed

An Illinois district judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Apple without trial, according to Bloomberg. The plaintiff, Jose Trujillo, initially filed suit against Apple in July of 2007, accusing the company of consumer fraud. Apple did not properly inform the public of the limited life on iPhone batteries, Trujillo said, or the $86 charge in case a replacement is needed. Trujillo sought to gain class-action status; Apple eventually had the suit moved from state to federal court.

In his ruling, US District Judge Matthew Kennelly sides with Apple, claiming that the iPhone's packaging does indeed carry a warning. The battery has "limited recharge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by Apple service provider [sic]," according to a disclaimer. "Under the circumstances," Kennelly comments, "no reasonable jury could find that deception occurred."

The dismissal comes after the denial of a motion by AT&T, which looked to force arbitration, allegedly necessary due to the terms of a service agreement. Kennelly notes that when Trujillo bought his iPhone, he did not have a paper copy of any documents referring to terms of service, namely anything mandating arbitration.

by MacNN Staff