What Can We Learn From The Apple Lawsuit Over Affirmative Misrepresentation?

A United States District Judge in San Francisco has dismissed a lawsuit against Apple Inc., because the plaintiffs failed to deliver strong enough proof that Apple made affirmative misrepresentations.

The plaintiffs had accused Apple of selling computers with defects, while billing the laptops as the “most advanced” computers on sale. The judge found that the computers held the minimum level of quality and that they had been fit for ordinary purposes.

The plaintiffs argue that Apple had violated consumer protection laws and that the Chief Executive for Apple, Tim Cook, knew about the defects, but that he did not try to fix them.

The plaintiffs have until January 22 to alter their lawsuit by order of the judge.

Another Apple lawsuit involving the supposed selling of computers with defective graphic cards is pending in California.

What is Affirmative Misrepresentation?

Misrepresentation comes in more than one form. The two most common occur by making an affirmative statement or by concealing information, which is sometimes called negative fraud.

An example of affirmative misrepresentation could be a statement of fact that is purposely misleading, such as, “This treehouse will stand for 50 years,” to attract customers. In this instance, if the treehouses that are supposed to stand for 50 years are routinely falling apart after a few years, then the company that affirmed the durability of its product could be sued for affirmative misrepresentation.

Many contracts can have an element of this kind of fraud. A Los Angeles business litigation attorney can help corporate or individual clients by reviewing contracts and offering sage counsel.

[Did You Know? In 1991, a New York court found a haunted house to be “legally haunted,” which dismissed a fraudulent misrepresentation charge.]

Klein Trial Lawyers — Business Litigation Attorney

Source: www.reuters.com

Scroll to Top