Apple is accused of false marketing and fraud due to screen problems of MacBook M1

Apple faces a new class action lawsuit in the United States accusing it of false or misleading marketing for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with M1 technology, fraudulent business practices, misconduct in customer service and violation of the consumer legislation.

The lawsuit, filed this week in the Northern District of California, represents Apple customers in the United States who have faced hardware defects in their MacBook Pro M1 and ‌MacBook Air‌.

In recent months, a significant number of customers have reported that the screens on their new Apple silicon MacBooks have cracked or shown black horizontal and vertical lines, making them unusable. As the lawsuit alleges, these customers said the cracks and malfunctions were caused by a hardware defect rather than the user himself.

In addressing these complaints, the lawsuit seeks to cast a greater shadow over Apple’s “misleading marketing” and “fraudulent” business practices. The lawsuit accuses the Cupertino technology giant of falsely announcing the 13-inch screens of the MacBook Pro and BookMacBook Air‌ as “premium” [in] quality, reliability and durability “, although Apple supposedly knew the opposite.

Apple is accused in the lawsuit of misleading customers on purpose by extolling the quality of the MacBook Pro and BookMacBook Air‌ screens. Depending on the case, Apple was involved in fraudulent business practices, as its “rigorous testing” of the screens prior to its release should have made the alleged defect apparent. Despite this, the company continued to launch the product.

Despite this knowledge, [Apple] could not actively disclose and hide the Screen Defect to the public, and continued to market and advertise [laptops] as state-of-the-art and durable laptops when in fact normal operation … often causes catastrophic damage, making the devices unusable.

“To ensure durability, we have evaluated the 13-inch ‘MacBook Air’ in our reliability testing lab, using rigorous testing methods that simulate customer experiences,” according to the lawsuit, Apple claims as additional documentation that the company was aware of the defect. The company was “reckless” at not being able to identify the weakness, the lawsuit notes.

While it fraudulently and falsely markets the screens as “premium, reliable and durable,” the lawsuit accuses Apple of severely violating consumer law, according to California state law. Specifically, the lawsuit accuses Apple of violating consumer law by refusing to repair customer screens, even when they were under warranty.

The lawsuit cites a customer who was sued for $ 480 for replacing the screen of his damagedMacBook Air‌ damaged, while another customer was told it would cost $ 615. In many other cases, according to the lawsuit, Apple refused to repair the screens with warranty, as the company claimed that they were caused by the user and that they were considered accidental breakages.

In some cases, leaving debris between your MacBook and its cover can cause damage; however, the lawsuit indicates that no customer had done so and that the widespread nature of the defect demonstrates that it is a manufacturing defect more than anything else.

The lawsuit highlights a valid point. For customers, regardless of whether repairs were paid for out of pocket or not, the replaced screen would also, in theory, be defective. As a result, the lawsuit accuses Apple of misbehaving by placing users in an endless loop of faulty screens, leading to costly repairs and “equally faulty replacements.”

As a result of Apple’s misconduct, [customers] they were harmed and suffered actual damage, including that class laptops contained defective screens, that they have manifested and continue to manifest the screen defect, and that Apple has provided no remedy for the screen defect. [Customers] they have also incurred and will continue to incur out-of-pocket expenses and unreimbursed expenses related to screen defect.

In its current form, the lawsuit does not claim any damages or monetary compensation from Apple. Instead, it asks Apple to reverse its “false marketing” of the quality and reliability of its MacBook’s screens, as mentioned above, and to “correct, repair, replace, or otherwise rectify [its] illicit, unfair, false and / or misleading practices “.

The lawsuit provides Apple with 30 days, starting Aug. 30, to address customers and the alleged screen defect. After 30 days, without any action by Apple, the lawsuit, which represents Apple customers and others involved, will continue to sue the company for damages.

The specific amount of damages to be identified later during the trial of the requested jury. However, the collective monetary damages of Apple customers who experienced the aforementioned screen defect exceeds $ 5 million, excluding misappropriated revenue and punitive damages caused by Apple’s “deceptive practices.” .

An Apple spokesman declined to comment when contacted for a response to the lawsuit.