Apple Hit With Two Customer Class Actions After Sweeping US Suit

Customers of Apple Inc. who bought iPhones slammed the company with two proposed class actions on Friday, alleging in Northern California and New Jersey federal courts that the company has an illegal smartphone monopoly.

The suits are among the first brought by consumers over Apple’s “sticky ecosystem” since the US Justice Department, joined by 15 states and the District of Columbia, hit the company with a sweeping suit in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The consumers’ complaints echo allegations by the government, including that the company’s control over its messaging system, apps, smartwatches, and digital wallets restricts customers from switching to rival products. The government’s suit targets broader aspects of Apple’s business model than suits by Epic Games Inc. and other Apple rivals, linking the company’s practices together.

“Consumers love Apple products, but Apple has exploited that love,” said the proposed class action complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Because Apple has “insulated” itself from competition, it charges higher prices for devices that are lower-quality and less valuable to customers, the proposed class action complaint filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California said.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to request for comment Friday.

Carella Byrne Cecchi Brody & Agnello PC and Hausfeld LLP represent the New Jersey plaintiff. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Sperling & Slater LLC represent the California plaintiffs.

The cases are Goldfus v. Apple Inc., D.N.J., No. 2:24-cv-04108, 3/22/24 and Collins v. Apple Inc., N.D. Cal., No. 3:24-cv-01796, 3/22/24.