LOS ANGELES – Three Apple Inc. users filed a class action lawsuit against Apple Inc. alleging the company knowingly sold defective keyboards on MacBooks.
Plaintiffs Remy Turner, Christopher Martin and Joey Baruch filed a suit against Apple Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on May 22.
The proposed class consists of anyone who bought a 2015 or newer Apple MacBook or a 2016 or newer MacBook Pro laptop. Both devices have the butterfly switch keyboard that is the subject of the lawsuit.
The suit states while the keyboard can resist debris, it can’t resist dust or other particles that have the potential to damage the keyboard. The suit states the keys cannot be removed for cleaning without risk of damage to the keyboard, which would subsequently voids Apple’s warranty.
The defendant was alleged to not only mislead consumers as it continued to promote the keyboard with “four times more stability,” than the typical keyboard method, according to the suit, but also did not let consumers know about the issue with the keyboard.
“Defendant also concealed and continues to conceal the problems through its marketing, advertising, and packaging of the laptops,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs each said they experienced issues with the MacBook's butterfly switch keyboards. They filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and anyone else who purchased the products in question within the time frame.
They cited breach of express warranty and accused the company of violating the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act as well as the California Unfair Competition Law with claims Apple was deceptive.
They requested the court order the certification of the class and subclass, declaration the defendant performed illegal activity, and asked for the defendant to be forbidden from conducting said illegal activity indefinitely.
The plaintiffs also requested an award for themselves, the class, and the subclass including restitution and compensation for Apple’s alleged wrongful conduct as well as attorneys’ fees and legal costs. They requested the case go to trial by jury.
The plaintiffs are represented by Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP in San Francisco.