Queens, N.Y. resident Dongmei Li has sued the tech giant, along with AT&T and Steve Jobs, over the $200 slash in the price of the much-ballyhooed cellphone less than two months after its launch. Among her many claims are that Apple unfairly deprived her of the chance to sell her early-bought iPhone at a profit, and that the $100 store credit Apple offered early buyers was inferior to the full refund they could have obtained if they decided they didn’t like the product right away. (Kasper Jade, “Apple, Jobs, AT&T sued over iPhone price cut, rebates”, AppleInsider, Sept. 28; Tom Krazit, “One More Thing”, CNet, Sept. 28; more comments at TechMeme; Katherine Mangu-Ward, “When Bad PR Happens to Good Economics”, Reason, Sept. 14). At the Apple Insider Forums, commenter Ken Laws quotes a passage describing another part of the suit:
“The lawsuit goes on to accuse Apple, Jobs and AT&T of forcing customers into 2-year service agreements with AT&T and imposing hefty $175 termination fees.”
I’ll never forget that terrifying night. I was just sitting at home, minding my own business, when Steve Jobs and a platoon of AT&T thugs burst through my front door…. Hovering helicopters and troops with vicious, snarling dogs kept the damned in line as we waited, huddled in fear, knowing our only choices were to sign the two year contract or be put up against the back wall of the Apple Store and shot.
I survived that night. But I know a lot of people who didn’t. I see their faces whenever I get a call on my iPhone, because I screwed up my contacts list and all the portraits are wrong.
Earlier iPhone suits: Jul. 30, Sept. 25, and (trademark claim): Jan. 10.
6 Comments
Why hasn’t anyone sued Sam’s Club? Oh wait, my bad, lot’s of people have. But there is a clear parallel. What about Exxon? They adjust prices based on economic circumstances-daily (perhaps hourly). What about my cell phone provider(name rhymes with stint), they have a $175 early termination fee and in order to get a better rate I signed up for a two-year plan? What do you bet that no one (esp. her atty) told this plaintiff about those nasty little administrative fees she might have to pay in the event that she doesn’t prevail? Maybe that’s one of those “lessons learned?”
You’d think that the iPhone not selling out completely on the first day did more damage at the eBayablity of it than this price cut had.
I can’t wait for the first lawsuit against Apple for unlocked iPhones that ‘break’ after software updates.
Can someone post a picture of Steve holding a gun to Miss Li’s head and forcing her to be an early adopter? Didn’t know that the “chance to sell her early-bought iPhone at a profit” was inherent in the purchase.
Again, where’s the gun forcing her to get a 2 year agreement with cancellation penalties.
This is idiocy. What’s more annoying is that a lawyer took this on. Shakespeare was right.
Shakespeare wasn’t QUITE right… I would propose an amnesty on any lawyer that practiced for less than a year, then quit for reasons of conscience. I know, exceedingly few people with a conscience would make it through law school to begin with (as that seems to be the primary purpose of law school), but there might be a few.
This is appalling! Donkey Li just HAD to be one of the first to have the iPhone – knowing the price would eventually substantially decrease just like every other new-fangled electronic contraption. She’ll pay far more than $200 in court costs and when she loses I’ll be LMFAO.