Apple And AT&T Sued For Third Time Over iPhone Battery

Apple and AT&T have once again been sued for alleged iPhone flaws.

On Wednesday, attorneys for plaintiffs Zoltan Stiener and Ynez Stiener filed a class action complaint against Apple and AT&T in federal court in Oakland, Calif.

The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, fraud, and violations of California law. It charges the two companies with failing to inform iPhone purchasers that fees totaling more than $100 are required to replace iPhone batteries and to maintain service during battery replacement.

The iPhone's battery is designed so as not to be removable by consumers.

The lawsuit states that the iPhone battery must be replaced after approximately 300 charges and that replacement is likely to be necessary in one year or less.

Apple maintains a Web page to educate consumers about how to prolong the life of the iPhone's battery. "A properly maintained iPhone battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 400 full charge and discharge cycles," Apples states. "You may choose to replace your battery when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs."

This marks the third such case against Apple.

One of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs is Oakland-based lawyer H. Tim Hoffman, who also represents Sydney Leung, the plaintiff in a similar class action suit against Apple and AT&T filed August 13th in the same court.

In July, a different group of attorneys based in Chicago filed a class action lawsuit against Apple and AT&T on behalf of plaintiff Jose Trujillo in Illinois' Cook County Circuit Court.

Also in July, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights sent a letter to Apple and AT&T complaining about the iPhone battery. Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the FTCR, told InformationWeek that he would like to see consumers get battery replacements free of charge.

An Apple spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.