Consumer, Dealer Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Apple (UPDATE)

February 17th, 2005 at 2:00 PM - Reports by Brad Gibson

A group of consumers and Apple resellers filed a class action lawsuit Thursday accusing Apple Computer of unfair and unlawful business practices, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, and violation of consumer warranty laws, documents obtained by The Mac Observer reveal.

The 26-page complaint, filed Thursday in San Francisco County Superior Court, was on behalf of Jack Branning, James Seybert, Stacey Blevins, Tom Siechert and Joe Weingarten. The plaintiffs are represented by two San Diego-based law firms and another firm headquartered in San Clemente, Calif.

Of the five plaintiffs, two are former Apple resellers. Records indicate Mr. Siechert is a former computer buyer in the procurement department of California State University, based in Fresno, Calif.

Mr. Weingarten is the former owner of Weingarten Gallery, a Apple resellers based in Dayton, Ohio, and is the head of the Apple Resellers Association, a organization for some 70 resellers across the U.S.

"Apple is pushing dealers to the point of where theyire going out of business because of their actions," Mr. Weingarten told The Mac Observer. "We had no choice but to go through with this suit."

Mr. Branning is a Macintosh owner and user from San Francisco. Mr. Seybert and Ms. Blevins are Apple products owners, also residing in California.

The suit accuses Apple of repackaging and selling refurbished machines to resellers and consumers as new products "when in fact they are used," the complaint states. Defendants in the case say they can prove the products were used because when they paid for AppleCare extended warranties, the contracts expired earlier than expected and Apple then admitted they were used.

Resellers also charged that Apple has unfairly and unlawfully withheld product from the reseller channel in an effort to stock the shelves of its own retail stores and reap more sales and profit. The dealers also alledged Apple has illegally priced its products to undercut independent dealers and have often sold products below cost to steal away business.

Other allegations include...