14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has decided to move one of the lawsuits over alleged deceptive iPhone battery claims over to a Federal court. The company is hoping to level the playing field for its legal defense as a federal court is much more likely to consider a multi-state case objectively.
The action was filed last Friday and would remove Jose Truijllo's suit from its home in a state court in Cook County, Illinois to a federal institution for the Northern District of Illinois. This first iPhone battery lawsuit charges Apple and AT&T with hiding the fact that the iPhone battery needs to be replaced every 300 charges, while simultaneously locking customers into a two-year contract. Under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, or CAFA law, Apple can move the suit to the federal level, since it is based in a different state than the plaintiff and the damages would total over $5 million. The company calculated the damages and the most cautious of estimate indicate over $17 million before factoring in punitive damages, which would be the equivalent of over 200,000 4GB iPhones and their battery replacement bills.
The nature of the law lets Apple move the suit without any input from the plaintiff, or co-defendant AT&T. This was designed in order to prevent any potential bias in judgment that might occur in a trial outside of the defendant's home territory, and according to the reasoning behind the statute, federal court would be more likely to consider a case involving multi-state parties objectively.
While having to list the potential damages owed, the transfer notice makes it perfectly clear that the company is not admitting to any wrongdoing whatsoever. "Apple disputes [the] Plaintiff's allegations, believes the Complaint lacks merit, and denies that [the] Plaintiff or the putative class have been harmed in any way," the company's lawyers said.