As one of the most sued tech companies on the planet, Apple is certainly no stranger to class-action lawsuits. Over the past few months alone, for example, Apple has been hit with a pair of high-profile lawsuits, with one centering on the keyboard design of the MacBook Pro and the other stemming from the company’s decision to throttle performance on older iPhone models with degraded batteries.
Not to be outdone, the latest class-action lawsuit targeting Apple claims that the Apple Watch display is inherently faulty and prone to cracking, shattering, and in some cases, detaching itself completely from the Apple Watch casing. Filed by Kenneth Sciacca of Colorado this week, the suit (which was originally spotted by Patently Apple) claims that the aforementioned design defect impacts all iterations of the Apple Watch and has been known to Apple for a few years now.
According to the complaint, Apple was well aware of the defect but chose to ship the Apple Watch regardless. As to the impetus behind the suit, the complaint reads in part:
Sciacca purchased a Series 2 Stainless Steel 38mm Apple Watch on or about December 1, 2016. On or around March 9, 2018, the screen on Sciacca’s Watch unexpectedly detached from the Watch’s body shortly after he removed the watch from its charger (shown below). In the following weeks, Sciacca contacted a certified Apple Store located at the Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree, Colorado. Store employees examined Sciacca’s Watch and verified the issue, but determined that the Watch’s screen detached because of “non-warrantable damage,” rather than a swollen battery. Because the employees determined Sciacca’s Watch was not covered under Apple’s Limited Warranty, they quoted him $249 to repair his Watch. Sciacca declined this offer.
The suit alleges that thousands of Apple Watch users have had the same type of experience. For what it’s worth, Apple has acknowledged that the battery on some Apple Watch units can experience swelling and, in turn, can cause a screen to detach from the body of the device. Just two months ago, Apple said that Apple Watch wearers who own units with swollen batteries can take advantage of free repairs.
As a final point, the suit adds that Apple willfully concealed the aforementioned design defect from consumers and that affected users would not have purchased an Apple Watch had they known about the alleged defect.
