Apple has filed a lawsuit asking a California court to dismiss a group of lawsuits seeking class action status over claims that the Siri voice recognition in the iPhone 4S doesn’t perform as advertised. According to the lawsuits, Apple intentionally misstated Siri’s capabilities in its advertising — an accusation that Apple denies.
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Apple claimed that the complaints from customers are vague and don’t address how the advertisements are misleading, according to the Wall Street Journal. The filing from Apple also stated that none of the customers returned their iPhones for refunds, which was an option during the first 30 days after purchase.
Apple’s filing for dismissal stated,
They offer only general descriptions of Apple’s advertisements, incomplete summaries of Apple’s website materials, and vague descriptions of their alleged—and highly individualized—disappointment with Siri. Tellingly, although Plaintiffs claim they became dissatisfied with Siri’s performance “soon after” purchasing their iPhones, they made no attempt to avail themselves of Apple’s 30-day return policy or one-year warranty—which remains in effect.
What the plaintiffs did instead, according to Apple’s filing, was to file lawsuits and seek class action status.
“The Complaint does not come close to meeting the heavy burden necessary to sustain such claims,” Apple said.
The judge overseeing the cases has not yet made a ruling on Apple’s request.