Apple sued over exploding iPod touch, iMac display issues

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple's build quality has been called into question as fresh lawsuits blame the company for an iPod touch that caught on fire as well as the widely-known vertical line defect on iMac displays.



Apple charged with making 'explosive' iPod touch



The first of the lawsuits, filed on Wednesday in a Southern District of Ohio court, claims that Apple negligently built the second-generation iPod touch -- incorrectly referred to as an "iTouch" through the entire complaint -- with a flaw that ultimately caused serious burns.



In the 14-page suit, Lynette Antrobus of Cincinnati describes buying a 16GB iPod in November that, just two weeks later, exploded in her son's pocket and not only set his pants on fire but "melted" through to his leg, causing second degree burns. Besides these more immediately obvious losses, Antrobus also claims the impact of the unexpected event will give her son "mental distress" and other problems well past the initial damage done.



Apple didn't take enough precautions to test the iPod for this kind of risk, she argues, and didn't adequately warn buyers that there might be a risk. By encouraging owners to keep their iPods close to their bodies, the company created a recipe for disaster that was bound to injure someone.



There are also 10 anonymous John Does in the manufacturing, supply and sale chain that Antrobus also charges with negligent work in producing the iPod touch.



In an unusual turn for such suits against Apple, the plaintiff is not only looking for a specific amount in advance of any trial, at least $75,000, but isn't seeking class action status to represent all iPod touch owners.



Second lawsuit emerges over defective iMac displays



The same can't be said for the second lawsuit, which was submitted on the same day to a Northern District of California court and hopes to represent a wide swath of iMac owners.



Florida resident Roman Huff observes that his 17-inch iMac bought in November 2006 -- here labeled an iMac G5 despite clearly being an Intel-based model -- is representative of a display defect that affects nearly all owners of that generation of the computer.



The complaint echoes those of a similar January lawsuit and says that "thousands" of iMac owners start to see vertical lines appear on their LCDs months after first use. These gradually multiply and wash out the color of the display to where it's unusable; in an all-in-one desktop, this renders the entire system useless, Huff's suit contends.



An example of a 2006 iMac's vertical line defect.



Apple is not only said to have been violating California's Business & Professional and Commercial Codes by failing to properly test the displays, and therefore knowingly selling defective systems, but of unfairly skewing its warranty terms to evade repairing or replacing the iMacs out of its own pocket. Although the flaw reportedly exists in every affected iMac from the outset, Apple insists that any iMac outside of its one-year warranty, including Huff's, must be repaired at its owner's expense: in some cases costing as much as $800, or more than half the original price of the system.



As such, Huff asks Apple to refund the repair or replacement costs for any US resident who bought a defective iMac from 2005, when G5 models were produced, through to the present.



Apple hasn't publicly commented on either of the lawsuits and typically doesn't discuss court cases. However, the iPod touch suit is, so far, unique; Apple has had to replace iPod nanos that caught on fire due to power glitches, but hasn't had a similar rash of complaints for its touchscreen devices.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 127
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    Apple has been goofing off on many things lately, especially after their iPhone endeavor.
  • Reply 2 of 127
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    The judge should throw the case out and tell them to come back when they can get the product name right.



    Also, if it is something about the iPod that is causing it to explode, why is this the only one? It must not be purely the iPod, but the iPod in combination with something else. Something unusual was done to it. So what was it, and was it reasonable?
  • Reply 3 of 127
    Although I think it's horrible that someone was burned by an iPod touch, I think the lawsuit is a little fishy since this is the only instance I have heard about a 2G iPod touch catching fire and that they are not filing it as a class-action lawsuit. How can you claim that Apple was fully aware of the risks or did not test the product enough when there have been millions of units sold and (as far as I know) only 1 that caught fire?
  • Reply 4 of 127
    g3prog3pro Posts: 669member
    As anyone who has used any Apple product before, one can confidently say that it is impossible for a unit to be defective, causing harm to the user. Clearly, the plaintiff in the case is making up the entire story and deserves to be burned at the stake for their insubordination.



    THAT will be the only evidence of burning in this case, and it is entirely appropriate considering the level of offense they committed.
  • Reply 5 of 127
    l008coml008com Posts: 163member
    The kid probably put it in the microwave the day before
  • Reply 6 of 127
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    Has that iPod Touch been investigated in order to find out what defective component caused the issue? It's clearly a one off situation, but if it did catch fire, then they are entitled to sue. Apple can then sue the supplier that caused the malfunction in order to retrieve their costs. However they might get away with it because they don't make a product called an iTouch, but I'm sure that common sense will prevail. Would be amusing if it turned out to be a Chinese knock-off clone though...



    As for the other case, if it is a widespread documented problem, then I hope that Apple are made to offer free repairs to affected owners. Again if the flaw is in a third party component, Apple can sue to get their costs back. More likely it's something in the design on the iMac, given its restricted space it might be heat related.
  • Reply 7 of 127
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Sounds like someone unfortunately lost their job and is just looking for an easy way to get $75,000. Even if it did burn the child, I don't think they'd be entitled to $75,000. Maybe cover medical expenses and a replacement of the iPod Touch (or full refund), but this isn't like it killed someone. And to my knowledge, its not a wide spread issue at all. They need to understand that shit happens sometimes. Every single product coming off an assembly line can't be 100% perfect 100% of the time. It just isn't possible.



    The other incident...well it sounds like they need to get their shit together first before they sue. You might think it doesn't make a difference what the model of iMac it is, but it in this case it makes a world of difference. For example say they claim the iMac G5 was having all the issues and the evidence they show is all Intel iMacs that look just like them, well maybe Intel iMacs are the ones with the issue and not his iMac G5. All of a sudden the case doesn't hold water anymore....
  • Reply 8 of 127
    This sounds a lot like the battery "exploded", which is a lawsuit worthy event. Whether this was a one-off defective unit, a design flaw, or just a badly abused unit will be found out later (I hope).



    Suing the entire supply chain, including the retail clerk who rang up the purchase, sounds like the action of a paranoid conspiracy nut, or an extremely overachieving lawyer.
  • Reply 9 of 127
    cubertcubert Posts: 728member
    I am originally from Cincinnati and go back to visit every so often. First, this was reported repeatedly on the local Cincinnati news when it first happened - the national outlets just didn't pick it up. Second, it doesn't surprise me that this lady is seeking a relatively small sum of money for a lawsuit of this nature, nor that isn't she trying to elevate it to class action status - people in Cincinnati are just not like that. We don't like shyster lawyers and the "sue, sue, sue" mentality that is so prominent on the east and west coasts.



    Cincinnati is a great city. Go visit some time.
  • Reply 10 of 127
    kreshkresh Posts: 379member
    I wonder if he had change in his pocket and a dime or nickel wound up in the docking port and shorted the battery somehow. Of course you would think that it would have happened before if it was change.



    Anybody want to cram change into their iPod to try it
  • Reply 11 of 127
    People are so pathetic. I bet she is overweight and barely has a high school education.
  • Reply 12 of 127
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by g3pro View Post


    As anyone who has used any Apple product before, one can confidently say that it is impossible for a unit to be defective, causing harm to the user. Clearly, the plaintiff in the case is making up the entire story and deserves to be burned at the stake for their insubordination.



    THAT will be the only evidence of burning in this case, and it is entirely appropriate considering the level of offense they committed.



    So you are, by way of low-quality sarcasm, saying that no one would lie about something like this just to get some easy money? Which side of the turnip truck did you fall off of? Don't you read the news? Didn't you read about the gal who claimed to have found a human thumb in her Wendy's chili. Turns out it was her friend's thumb who had cut it off accidentally at work. She's in jail now, by the way. People lie like rugs when it comes to getting some money out of a big company who will settle out of court because it's cheaper than the litigation costs. There are actually people who sue companies for a living, claiming all sorts of injuries, damages, mental anguish, etc.
  • Reply 13 of 127
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bloggerblog View Post


    Apple has been goofing off on many things lately, especially after their iPhone endeavor.



    Complete, utter, bullsh!t troll.
  • Reply 14 of 127
    dagamer34dagamer34 Posts: 494member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cubert View Post


    I am originally from Cincinnati and go back to visit every so often. First, this was reported repeatedly on the local Cincinnati news when it first happened - the national outlets just didn't pick it up. Second, it doesn't surprise me that this lady is seeking a relatively small sum of money for a lawsuit of this nature, nor that isn't she trying to elevate it to class action status - people in Cincinnati are just not like that. We don't like shyster lawyers and the "sue, sue, sue" mentality that is so prominent on the east and west coasts.



    Cincinnati is a great city. Go visit some time.



    I was pretty sure that in order for a lawsuit to be bumped up to class-action status, you need more than one plantiff. Unless the lawyer for the boy is going to argue that this defect is likely to be in all 2G iPod Touches, this is most likely an isolated incident.
  • Reply 15 of 127
    abster2coreabster2core Posts: 2,501member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bloggerblog View Post


    Apple has been goofing off on many things lately, especially after their iPhone endeavor.



    And I guess you are perfect. Bet your parents would have liked to have sent you back more than once for all the goofing off that you have done.



    If you really want to see what recalls really are suggest you visit FDA's Recall Site: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.HTML



    And for more, look up Auto Recalls. Talk about quality control or is it just that shit happens every once in a while.
  • Reply 16 of 127
    My brother had a 5G iPod in which the battery fried the screen while recharging (burned through, leaving a hole and serious scorch marks). The guy at the Apple Store Genius Bar knew right away what the problem was. The iPod was out of warranty, so we replaced the screen and battery; no problems since. He's an adult and the iPod was never abused. If the parts had been more combustible, there easily could have been a fire.



    Apple's marketing the device to kids. Apple should pay up and figure out why it happened so it can warn owners and design it out of future iterations or stop sourcing from that manufacturer. They should appreciate the kid for being an effective product tester.
  • Reply 17 of 127
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DiscoNomad View Post


    People are so pathetic. I bet she is overweight and barely has a high school education.



    I heard she recently had 8 kids.
  • Reply 18 of 127
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    The judge should throw the case out and tell them to come back when they can get the product name right.



    Also, if it is something about the iPod that is causing it to explode, why is this the only one? It must not be purely the iPod, but the iPod in combination with something else. Something unusual was done to it. So what was it, and was it reasonable?



    You're obviously a Republican.
  • Reply 19 of 127
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Abster2core View Post


    And I guess you are perfect. Bet your parents would have liked to have sent you back more than once for all the goofing off that you have done.



    If you really want to see what recalls really are suggest you visit FDA's Recall Site: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.HTML



    And for more, look up Auto Recalls. Talk about quality control or is it just that shit happens every once in a while.



    As you are ubdoubtedly aware, when CE had a major flaw it's not an isolated incident. I'm surprised that their haven't more stories about this if it is a real issue, like with the Sony battery fiasco.
  • Reply 20 of 127
    I find it amazing that people can give Apple the benefit of the doubt regarding the Touch story despite it being on the same page as the iMac story. Don't you conservatives believe people should be responsible for their actions? If Apple hurt someone or built a crappy product, they should own up to it and do the right thing. You people are so brainwashed by the corporate media: Individuals = bad, corporations = good. Disgusting!!!
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