Rebecca Day

Inaccurate and misleading information provided by Verizon Wireless led to erroneous debt collection actions, alleged a complaint (docket 7:22-cv-10938) filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Southern New York in White Plains against Equifax, TransUnion and Verizon for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Apple’s decision not to package a power adapter with series 12 through 14 iPhones is a breach of contract and a breach of implied warranty, plus a violation of Illinois consumer fraud laws, alleged a Dec. 27 class action (docket 3:22-cv-03099) in U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois in East St. Louis. Previous versions of the iPhone included a power adapter, but beginning in 2020, the company stopped including adapters, claiming environmental benefits from foregoing the mining of precious metals used in their production and the reuse of customers’ adapters from previous purchases, the complaint said. Plaintiff Elizabeth Steines, who lives in Godfrey, Illinois, bought an iPhone between December 2021 and May 2022, expecting the iPhone to come with a charger required to use the device. Her most recent iPhone used a charger that wasn’t compatible with her current iPhone, so she was “forced to pay” about $30 for an additional charger at the T-Mobile store where she bought the phone or go without a charger until she was able to buy one, the complaint said. Apple could have taken other measures to promote environmental sustainability by adopting industry-standard USB-C chargers, “instead of rendering the Product non-functional unless an additional purchase was made,” said the plaintiff. As a result of “false and misleading representations and omissions,” the iPhone is sold for a price premium, “no less than $700” for the lowest price version, the plaintiff said, saying Apple “could have made chargers available for free to iPhone purchasers who request them.” The plaintiff intends to buy an iPhone again at the price indicated if given “assurances it comes with the necessary components to render it functional or if the price is reduced by the amount of the charger.” Steines is “unable to rely on the labeling” of not only iPhones but also other products requiring another item for use, “such as a remote control without batteries, because she is unsure whether she would be buying only part of what she expects,” said the complaint. The class action seeks injunctive relief to remove, correct or refrain from challenged practices, monetary awards and damages, plus costs and expenses. A group of Chinese students sued Apple for not supplying a power adapter and earphones with the iPhone 12, Vice reported in 2021. The class action is not related to enforcement activities in other countries related to similar allegations, said the complaint. The European Council approved a rule in October that will require mobile phones and other electronic devices sold in the EU to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port by the end of 2024, leading to speculation that the next generation of iPhones will include USB-C charging ports.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) announced Wednesday a task force formed to provide better coordination among law enforcement to identify, disrupt and prosecute organized criminal rings that steal goods from retailers and resell them through online marketplaces.

The Dec. 21 class action alleging T-Mobile failed to protect customers' information in a SIM card swap fraud (see 2211160016) was assigned to U.S. District Judge Lauren King for Western Washington in Seattle, whose Dec. 22 summons gave the defendant 21 days to answer the complaint (docket 2:22-cv-1805).

Microsoft, positioning itself in third place among console gaming companies behind Nintendo and Sony and with “next to no presence” in mobile gaming, is trying to become “more competitive” in the expanding mobile gaming space, it said Thursday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert for Northern Illinois in Chicago granted in a Friday docket entry plaintiffs Craigville Telephone and Consolidated Telephone’s Thursday partial consent motion (docket 1:19-cv-07190) to extend the deadline to amend pleadings and join parties in their class action against T-Mobile over false ring tones. T-Mobile had argued that plaintiffs’ interrogatories “did not need to be made” and should be denied (see 2212230004).

A request to supplement a renewed motion to compel with related interrogatories “did not need to be made” and should be denied, said defendants T-Mobile and Inteliquent in a Dec. 21 response (docket 1:19-cv-07190) to Craigville Telephone and Consolidated Telephone’s Dec. 12 motion filed in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick for Northern California in San Francisco signed an order Wednesday appointing interim lead counsel for the body of consolidated class actions (docket 22-cv-03580) brought against Meta for alleged privacy abuses via the Pixel tracking tool involving millions of Facebook users’ protected health information.

Downrite Engineering employees damaged Crown Castle underground cable on three occasions while excavating on land in and around Miami, without Crown Castle’s knowledge or consent, alleged Crown Castle in a complaint Monday (docket 163330712) in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Crown Castle seeks damages nearing $63,000, plus pre- and post-judgment interest and further relief.

Defendants SellLocked, Guru Holdings and owner Jakob Zahara on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss (docket 2:22-cv-1950) the 12 causes of action in Xfinity Mobile’s handset trafficking complaint against them for damages and injunctive relief in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Phoenix.