Woman sues over iPhone price cut, rebates

New York -- A New York woman has sued Apple and its president Steve Jobs over the iPhone, saying the company broke several laws when it cut the price of the phone.

It was the first known lawsuit resulting from the price cut, which raised a stink among iPhone users and forced Jobs to apologize for how Apple treated loyal customers, Computerworld reported Monday.

In her federal complaint filed Sept. 24, Dongmei Li accused Apple, Jobs and AT&T -- Apple's wireless partner -- of price discrimination, discrimination in offering rebates versus credits, unfair and deceptive practices, and other claims.

Among other things, Li claimed Apple practiced price discrimination between early and later buyers when it cut the price of the 8GB model from $599 to $399 last month. She also alleged that Apple gave later iPhone buyers a $200 refund, while offering earlier customers a $100 in-store credit. The lawsuit also accused Apple of ignoring customers such as Li who bought the lower-priced 4GB iPhone, locking early buyers into a two-year contract with AT&T that later buyers conceivably could break.

Li seeks compensatory damages of $1 million, plus punitive damages.

Apple officials were unavailable for comment.

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