San Francisco, CA: A telecommunications class action lawsuit has been filed against Apple over allegations that the tech giant entered into an allegedly undisclosed five-year contract with AT&T establishing AT&T as the exclusive provider of voice and data services for iPhone customers from launch in 2007 through 2012.
Filed by Zack Ward of Los Angeles and Thomas Buchar of Chicago, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the class action lawsuit seeks to prevent Apple from selling "locked" devices, or those that only work on a certain operator's network, and pay monetary damages.
The lawsuit relates to Apple iPhone devices purchased between October 19, 2008, and February 3, 2011. Ward bought his iPhone in October 2009, and Buchar bought one around June 2009.
The lawsuit claims Apple violated the section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 when it agreed to work only with AT&T Mobility for five years since consumers were not aware or asked if the contractual arrangement, where they could not switch providers, was acceptable.
