Apple calls for plaintiffs' lawyers to be kicked in iPhone throttling case

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited April 2019
Apple this week called for terminating two plaintiff lawyers in an ongoing lawsuit over iPhone throttling, saying they leaked secret documents in violation of a protective order.

iPhone 7 battery


The lawyers, Joseph Cotchett and Mark Molumphy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, repeatedly referenced three Apple documents marked "Highly Confidential -- Attorneys' Eyes Only" during a public hearing on March 7, according to a filing with the U.S. District Court in San Jose. Apple company further argued that in response to a letter, Cotchett "deflected blame, misrepresented the factual circumstances, and threatened his own sanctions motion based on Apple's confidential designation of the documents."

Reuters reported on the filing this week.

The lawsuit is a consolidation of 61 separate cases accusing Apple of false advertising, unfair business practices, and other charges relating to its decision to quietly throttle iPhones with weak batteries beginning with iOS 10.2.1. While Apple insisted this was necessary to prevent sudden shutdowns, the tactic upset many people shocked to learn their phones were being deliberately made slower.

Apple eventually apologized and promised remedial steps, including a year of discounted battery replacements and battery health controls included in iOS 11.3.

Some critics have accused Apple of planned obsolescence, but so far these claims don't appear to have had much legal standing. In places like France, planned obsolescence can be illegal.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    FranculesFrancules Posts: 122member
    They were ruining everything. Stealing data & abusing practices. They ruined my family. 
  • Reply 2 of 13
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,243member
    Francules said:
    They were ruining everything. Stealing data & abusing practices. They ruined my family. 
    Care to elaborate on who you are talk about?
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 3 of 13
    spacekidspacekid Posts: 183member
    "Apple calls for plaintiffs' lawyers to be kicked in iPhone throttling case"
    Is that in the behind or what?
    Eric_WVGGdysamoriazeus423leeeh2lordjohnwhorfinronn
  • Reply 4 of 13
    EsquireCatsEsquireCats Posts: 1,268member
    It always amuses me how one can see a feature that maintains the operation of the device, in spite of physical inevitabilities, as planned obsolescence. That would be the exact opposite of obsolescence, and yet here we are.
    narwhalradarthekatbonobobAnilu_777entropysleeeh2StrangeDayslordjohnwhorfinjony0
  • Reply 5 of 13
    stompystompy Posts: 408member
    EsquireCats said:
    It always amuses me how one can see a feature that maintains the operation of the device, in spite of physical inevitabilities, as planned obsolescence. That would be the exact opposite of obsolescence, and yet here we are.
    Too much logic, you are banished from the interwebs. /s
    ivanhnarwhalmac_dogspace2001mike1lordjohnwhorfinronn
  • Reply 6 of 13
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Bad article title. Typos in article. Sigh. 
  • Reply 7 of 13
    bonobobbonobob Posts: 382member
    Francules said:
    They were ruining everything. Stealing data & abusing practices. They ruined my family. 
    Proving once again that downvoting would be useful on this site.
    MacProzeus423roundaboutnowmwhiteAnilu_777slprescottStrangeDaysmike1ronnjony0
  • Reply 8 of 13
    king editor the grateking editor the grate Posts: 646member
    The judicial system is getting violent. 
    Anilu_777
  • Reply 9 of 13
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Francules said:
    They were ruining everything. Stealing data & abusing practices. They ruined my family. 
    Are you one of the people suing Apple for keeping your iPhone from shutting down?
    edited April 2019
  • Reply 10 of 13
    Johan42Johan42 Posts: 163member
    Should have notified your consumer base before making changes you thought were great for them. Some people actually like making their own decisions, Apple.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    atomic101atomic101 Posts: 132member
    EsquireCats said:
    It always amuses me how one can see a feature that maintains the operation of the device, in spite of physical inevitabilities, as planned obsolescence. That would be the exact opposite of obsolescence, and yet here we are.
    The beauty of that thinking is likely what convinced Apple to go ahead with the idea.... is there any more clever way to motivate non-die hard customers to upgrade their phones?  You create a feature that slows the device down in a fashion that pushes said customer towards an upgrade, but rest comfortably with the notion that you've done them a service by "preserving" the longevity of the device.  "Hey guys, we quietly slowed your phone, but never really mentioned that it just required a new battery... why not just get a new phone?  That thing you have is now all old and slow.... I mean, it still works, which is testament to Apple quality, but it's slow now because of all of the progress that's been made in iOS.... how about a fresh new iPhone X to get back in the swing of things?"

    Apple played the virtue card, but I suspect that with the realization of longer upgrade cycles that they knew what they were doing.

    I'm a fan of Apple products, but after my own battery throttling experience, I'm not naïve.
  • Reply 12 of 13
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    atomic101 said:
    EsquireCats said:
    It always amuses me how one can see a feature that maintains the operation of the device, in spite of physical inevitabilities, as planned obsolescence. That would be the exact opposite of obsolescence, and yet here we are.
    The beauty of that thinking is likely what convinced Apple to go ahead with the idea.... is there any more clever way to motivate non-die hard customers to upgrade their phones?
    YES! Have millions of iPhone constantly shutdown whenever they do anything resource intensive.
  • Reply 13 of 13
    atomic101atomic101 Posts: 132member
    Soli said:
    atomic101 said:
    EsquireCats said:
    It always amuses me how one can see a feature that maintains the operation of the device, in spite of physical inevitabilities, as planned obsolescence. That would be the exact opposite of obsolescence, and yet here we are.
    The beauty of that thinking is likely what convinced Apple to go ahead with the idea.... is there any more clever way to motivate non-die hard customers to upgrade their phones?
    YES! Have millions of iPhone constantly shutdown whenever they do anything resource intensive.
    And that's where transparency would have been quite the gem, right?  Something as simple as a message such as, "Your iPhone shut down unexpectedly.  If this happens again, it could be a sign that your battery needs to be replaced...." ---- but of course, that is what is happening now, after Apple was shamed into acknowledgement post public outrage.  Prior to that, the customer (i.e. me) had to be turned away by Apple "geniuses" and made to believe that they were idiots for thinking their batteries needed replacing.  True story.

    I have tried to make peace with that fiasco, but I won't accept that Apple was "right" in how they initially handled the situation - it feels downright intentional.  Unfortunately, the company burned a great deal of goodwill with a long-time customer.
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