Lawyer sues Apple over iPhone battery

San Francisco (CA) – A Bay Area lawyer has filed a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against Apple and AT&T over the company’s iPhone batteries. Sydney Leung claims that Apple doesn’t tell people that the battery needs replacing after several hundred charges. He is also upset that the sealed battery can only be replaced by sending the iPhone back to the factory.

Back in June, Leung purchased two iPhones from an Apple store in San Francisco. He claims in his lawsuit that he was never informed by store employees that the lithium-ion batteries inside the phone would eventually degrade and not hold a full charge. He also alleges that both the box and instructions inside the box do not adequately warn consumers about the replacement.

Of course it’s common knowledge that lithium-ion batteries wear out and will need replacement. On its website, Apple does warn iPhone buyers that the phone’s battery will take 400 full charge/discharge cycles until it degrades to 80% capacity.

The iPhone comes with a one-year warranty that entitles owners to a free replacement battery. Owners can also purchase a 2-year extended AppleCare warrantly that will replace the battery free of charge if it ever drops below 50% of the original capacity.

For iPhones that are out of warranty, Apple charges $79 plus $6.95 shipping and handling. Owners must send the iPhone for the replacement because the batteries are sealed inside the body.

Sydney S. Leung graduated from the UC Hastings College of Law in 1999 with a JD and currently runs a single-man law firm, appropriately named the Sydney S. Leung Law Offices in San Francisco.