Apple, AT&T slapped with another iPhone lawsuit

Apple and AT&T have been slapped with another lawsuit alleging that they deceived the customers about the process and costs associated with iPhone’s battery replacement and maintenance.

Sydney Leung Monday filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of other iPhone users accusing that both Apple and AT&T intentionally refrained to unveil the annual fees that would be needed to replace the iPhone battery and maintain service.

The lawsuit demands more than $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. A court conference on the matter was set for Nov. 28.

According to Leung and his representing lawyers Arthur Lazear and Max Folkenflik the battery in the iPhone will last only 300 complete charges before completely exhausting and will need a replacement each time.

Apple alone shall be able to put in a new battery due to the sealed rear compartment, which does not allow other technicians and users from swapping batteries themselves without canceling the warranty.

Moreover, the process will take around three days and cost over $100. It will also, remove any information on the phone. The battery-replacement program was not announced during the launch of the device but a week after its June 29 release.

The suit seeks answers to whether Apple and AT&T "should have known that the time and expense of replacing the iPhone battery would affect initial sales of the iPhone."

“One of the advantages in California has particularly good laws in protecting consumers from unfair trade practices,” Folkenflik said.

Apple did not respond immediately to the lawsuit, and AT&T declined to comment.

A similar lawsuit was filed in Illinois last month by Jose Trujillo, suing the companies for $75,000 in damages.

Apple had previously made a similar mistake with iPod over the short lifespan of battery in its early edition. Lawsuits were filed and the company had to compensate early iPod users with $50 of in-store credit or $25 cash. It’s not much different this time, only the amount should be bigger.