An iPhone user named Robert Franklin in Texas, United States is seeking a class-action lawsuit against the tech giant Apple for allegedly selling defective batteries and violating its warranty promises after his smartphone exploded in his face a couple of years ago in 2019.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Thursday, reports Appleinsider. It claims that the iPhone 6’s battery “contains a defect which makes it unable to reliably perform its function.”
It is seeking class-action status and a jury trial and asks for damages for the allegedly defective iPhone 6 and its battery, incidental damages for replacement devices, and attorneys’ fees and court costs.
It further alleges that the defect creates danger of explosion and fire. In the complaint, Robert Franklin of Hopkins County, Texas says that he had his iPhone 6 device explode in August 2019. It adds: “Robert Franklin was listening to music on his iPhone 6 when he noticed the music playing on his iPhone began to skip. As he picked up his iPhone to investigate, [it] suddenly exploded and caught fire in his face.”
The lawsuit adds that the plaintiff suffered injuries to his eyes and wrist as a result of the incident. The injury on the wrist occurred because the fire caused him to fall, during which Franklin used his hand to brace himself. He reportedly suffered economic loss due to the incident which includes the cost to replace iPhone and medical treatment for his injuries.
Apple started selling the iPhone 6 in 2015 and the plaintiff reportedly purchased it in 2018 — a year before the incident occurred. At this time, it is not clear what condition the phone was in prior to the explosion.
Apple is in violation of Texas law as it sold unmerchantable products, claims the lawsuit. It further alleges that Apple’s warranty claims that the iPhone 6 would be free from defects but it turned out to be untrue.
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