Friday, October 12, 2007 -- 5 p.m. -- out and about

Another day, another lawsuit.

This one, a class-action suit filed on behalf of two people, seems to me like a bunch of whiners who have no grasp of reality.

Paraphrasing here, but they said they used 3rd party apps and traveled abroad and wanted to use the iPhone on T-Mobile when they wanted to.

Uhhhh, yeah ... about that ...

YOU CAN'T!

Let me compare this whole thing to some other things that I want but can't have.

Example 1: I purchase a used car with 32,000 miles on it and no radio. Sold as-is, contract signed
I'm suing because the used car had miles on it and there was no way for me to listen to songs. A radio was required.

Example 2: I purchase a 40-watt light bulb for my bedroom
I'm suing because the light bulb wasn't bright enough and the company shortchanged me.

Example 3: The early outlook for Saturday is sunny and cool
I'm suing the weatherman because it rained when I was having a picnic.

It's the same thing. There were rules associated when purchasing the iPhone. People ignore them, buy it anyway and then sue like they are the victims.

I can't stress enough how annoying this is and what a huge abuse of the system this is.

Thanks for calling.

This is simply extortion by lawyer. Unless Apple is unusually principled, they will weight the cost of defending against this stupidity vs. settling. The attorneys will get their 40% off the top, and any members of the class will get a coupon for one song on iTunes or something else of minimal value. Which, by the way, is more than they deserve. Just one more example of the erosion of personal responsibility in our society.

SCOTT'S REPLY: The shame is not only the propensity for people to sue, it's the fact that the laws allow this kind of "retaliation" against innocent companies. I don't necessarily tow the company line all the time, but this is just wrong.

I'm one of the plaintiffs in the case you're referring to. I understand your position, but I don't think you are taking into account the details of this case. A few things to consider (copied from my comments on BoingBoing previously)...

You can run your own code on any other "smart phone" from AT&T without violating your warranty.

AT&T will give you the unlock code for any other phone if you call and ask them for it.

Every other time AT&T requires a contract, they give you something (a free phone, a cheaper rate plan, etc.). With iPhone, you get nothing but the privilege of buying a phone.

A class action suit won't make me rich in any scenario. The court would award any damages or settlement to all members of the class, which could be everyone with an iPhone.

This is about getting the industry to change its practices. Beyond voting with dollars, one of the tools mere consumers have to shape industry practices is the courts.

Thanks, pablos.

SCOTT'S REPLY: Pablos, I'm glad you wrote. I really appreciate hearing the side I didn't think I'd get to hear. But you really think a billion dollar class action suit is the way to be heard? That's the part that I just don't understand. If you've read this blog, you know that I respect all sides, even the ones I don't agree with. I keep coming back to wondering if such a lawsuit is the way to be heard.

So Pablos

Why didn't they buy another phone?

SCOTT'S REPLY: Fair question, Pablos.

i doubt yhe law suits are coming from people who really care about the details of the suit. They are just trying to make a buck. There are tons of other phones that are locked to carriers but no one sues them.

And what makes anyone think the iphone isnt subsidized? Remember that AT&T is giving Apple a good some of money on the activation of each phone. They just dont advertise like otjer phones loke buy with 2 year contract and save $200. If Apple didnt hsve this deal then possibly we would be paying another $200 up front?

remember the suit about the ipod battery being sealed? The people won that yet Apple continues to create products with sealed batteries snd low and behold they are sued again. Same suit different product. So did this guy not hear about Apple battery practice? Sure he knew, he's just trying to make a quick buck.

I'm sick of all these suits as well and I hope they are tossed out if court!

SCOTT'S REPLY: Far as I am concerned, folks need to read the fine print.

"I'm one of the plaintiffs in the case you're referring to. I understand your position, but I don't think you are taking into account the details of this case. A few things to consider (copied from my comments on BoingBoing previously)...

You can run your own code on any other "smart phone" from AT&T without violating your warranty.

AT&T will give you the unlock code for any other phone if you call and ask them for it.

Every other time AT&T requires a contract, they give you something (a free phone, a cheaper rate plan, etc.). With iPhone, you get nothing but the privilege of buying a phone."

At no point did apple say you WOULD BE ABLE to do these things, in fact, they said you COULDN"T do these things.. quite clearly in fact. You would have to be functionally illiterate NOT to have known this before you bought the phone. Yet, you went ahead an bought one anyway. How is it Apple's fault you didn't follow the rules they informed you of?

I'm in Canada.. this kind of lawsuit shows how silly the US justice system is.

SCOTT'S REPLY: Greg, I confused your post with something else. I see now that you were quoting Pablos. Thank you for the comment.

5% of the planet's population - 95% of the world's legal suits. "Your product doesn't do what I'd like, so I'm going to sue you ---- even though I knew when I bought it what it would do and would not."

Give me a break!

SCOTT'S REPLY: I've asked the person from Canada who says he's a plaintiff in one of the cases to chat with me in more detail about his thoughts. I'm interested to see if we can set something up.

Actually, Scott, Greg from Canada was quoting Pablos in his post. :-)

SCOTT'S REPLY: Wow, thanks so much for pointing that out, Mario! I got the bottom half when I hit reply and the rest didn't show up. I thought he filed a lawsuit. It's fixed now. Thanks again for clearing it up for everyone else.

I agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY! CAPS ON! What is it with our society anymore where the general public is so willing to sue for their own stupidity at the drop of a hat? And, they actually *expect* to win? Do these morons stay up at night dreaming up lawsuits? The co-problem is the lawyers and the judicial system that take the time to entertain these morons and their whinning.

I propose a new law. If people as stupid, as in this case, the "class action dorks" bring a lawsuit like this to court, fine them at least 50% of what they are suing for and throw them out on their ignoramus asses. Do that a few times and maybe, just maybe we can start going back to a more reasonable society.

SCOTT'S REPLY: Yep. I do believe that there should be a limit to this willy-nilly lawsuit filing.

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