In re Iphone Application Litigation

6 F. Supp. 3d 1004, 2013 WL 6212591, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169220
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedNovember 25, 2013
DocketCase No.: 11-MD-02250-LHK
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 6 F. Supp. 3d 1004 (In re Iphone Application Litigation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Iphone Application Litigation, 6 F. Supp. 3d 1004, 2013 WL 6212591, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169220 (N.D. Cal. 2013).

Opinion

[1007]*1007ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

LUCY H. KOH, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and a putative class, bring this action against Apple, Inc. (“Apple”) for alleged violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), Cal. Civ.Code §§ 1750, et seq., and California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code §§ 17200, et seq. Before the Court is Apple’s Motion for Summary Judgment. (“Mot.”) ECF No. 231. Plaintiffs oppose the Motion, (“Opp’n”) ECF No. 266, and Apple replies, (“Reply”) ECF No. 273. The Court held a hearing on the Motion on October 31, 2013. ECF No. 288; see also (“Oct. 31 Hr’g Tr.”) ECF No. 291. Having considered the parties’ submissions and oral arguments, the relevant law, and the record in this case, the Court GRANTS Apple’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

1. The Parties

Plaintiffs filed their Third Amended Consolidated Complaint (“TAC”) on behalf of four named Plaintiffs who assert two separate types of claims and seek to represent two separate classes of individuals. ECF No. 104.

Plaintiffs Anthony Chiu (“Chiu”) and Cameron Dwyer (“Dwyer”), both California residents assert “iDeviee Claims.” TAC ¶¶ 26-28.1 Chiu first purchased an iPhone in 2008, and replaced it with an iPhone 4 in or around June 2010. (“Kam-ber Deck”) ECF No. 267 at Ex. M ¶¶ 3-4. Dwyer first began using an iPhone in or about August 2008, after receiving the [1008]*1008phone from his father. (“Kravitz Decl.”) ECF No. 268 at Ex. 19 ¶ 3. Dwyer then purchased an iPhone between July and December of 2010, which he replaced with an iPhone 3GS in or around November 2011. Id. ¶ 4.

Plaintiffs Isabella Capiro (“Isabella”) and Alejandro Capiro (“Alejandro”), also California residents, assert “Geolocation Claims.” TAC ¶ 29. Alejandro purchased iPhone 4s for himself and his daughter, Isabella, in late December 2010. Kamber Decl. Ex. P ¶¶ 3, 7.

Defendant Apple is a California corporation that manufactures iPhones and other devices. TAC ¶¶ 31-32. Apple’s iPhones generally consist of two components: the iPhone hardware and the mobile operating system firmware (“iOS”). Id. ¶ 8. Apple’s iOS software is analogous to traditional computer-based operating systems such as Windows or Mountain Lion. (“Shoemaker Decl.”) ECF No. 236 ¶ 2. Apple frequently updates iOS, and users can install new versions of iOS as they become available, without cost. Id. ¶ 3.

2. ¡Device Claims

Plaintiffs allege that Apple attracts consumers to purchase iPhones and other “iDevices,” partly by offering thousands of purportedly “free” Apps in Apple’s proprietary “App Store.” TAC ¶¶ 6, 12; see also, e.g., Kamber Decl. Ex. M ¶ 6. Plaintiffs further allege that Apple regulates the Apps that are available in the App Store. TAC ¶ 9. App developers can only create Apps using Apple-supplied software development kits (“SDKs”), and Apps can only be distributed in the App Store upon Apple’s approval. Id. In addition, Apple controls what data Apps can and cannot transmit to third parties. Id. ¶ 14.

To users of the App Store, Apple represents in its Privacy Policy that it' “takes precautions — including administrative, technical, and physical measures — to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft, and misuse, as well as against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.” Kamber Decl. Ex. A (June 2010 Privacy Policy). Apple’s Privacy Policy further claims that users’ privacy is a priority to Apple. See id. (“Your privacy is important to Apple. So we’ve developed a Privacy Policy that covers how we collect, use, disclose, transfer, and store your information.”).

According to Plaintiffs, however, Apple allegedly “designed the iOS environment to easily transmit” Plaintiffs’ “personal information” to third parties that collect and analyze such data without user consent or detection. Opp’n at 4; see also TAC ¶¶ 12-13, 81. Apple allegedly failed to adequately disclose to Plaintiffs that the “free” Apps collected Plaintiffs’ information and sent it to third parties without user consent or detection. TAC ¶ 12.

Plaintiffs claim that they relied upon Apple’s representations about privacy and data collection in purchasing their iPhones. See, e.g., Kamber Decl. Ex. M ¶ 8 (Chiu Decl.) (“It was always my understanding that Apple would protect my personal and confidential information connected to my iPhone usage from disclosure to third parties. The protection that Apple was supposed to provide was important to me when I purchased the iPhone.”). In light of Apple’s statements about protecting users’ privacy, Plaintiffs did not consent to the App developers transmitting Plaintiffs’ information to third parties. See, e.g., id. Plaintiffs assert that as a result of Apple’s misrepresentations regarding its privacy and data collection practices, Plaintiffs both overpaid for their iPhones and suffered diminishment to their iPhones’ battery, bandwidth, and storage “resources.” See Opp’n at 14.

3. Geolocation Claims

Plaintiffs further allege that for iPhone users “who ran iOS versions 4.1 and later from June 21, 2010, through April 27, [1009]*10092011,” Apple “collect[ed] and exchange[d] location information with Apple’s servers” even when the “Location Services” setting on a user’s iPhone was set to “off.” Opp’n at 6. The “location information” exchanged with Apple’s servers appears to have consisted of lists of wifi hotspots and cell towers located in the general vicinity of the iPhone. See (“Huang Decl.”) ECF No. 235 ¶ 11.

Apple’s iPhone Software License Agreements (“SLAs”) state that consumers can prevent Apple from collecting location information “by going to the Location Services setting ... [and] turning off the global Location Services setting.” Kamber Decl. Ex. C (July 2010 SLA). Plaintiffs contend that Apple’s representations regarding a user’s ability to disable Location Services were false and misleading because Apple, prior to April 2011, continued to collect wifi hotspot and cell tower information from the iPhones, even after users, including Plaintiff Isabella Capiro, turned off the Location Services on their devices. See Opp’n at 6. Apple, for its part, attributes the iPhones’ ability to continue to transmit wifi hotspot and cell tower data even when Location Services was turned off to a “software bug” that it resolved starting with iOS version 4.3.3. See Huang Decl. ¶¶ 11,18.

Alejandro claims that he would have paid significantly less for the iPhones he purchased for himself and Isabella had he known that Apple continued to collect data about a user’s locations even after the user turned the iPhone’s Location Services off. Kamber Decl. Ex. P ¶ 6. Further, the Capiros contend that the exchange of location information with Apple’s servers consumed their iPhones’ resources. See Opp’n at 6,14.2

B. Procedural History

This case is a consolidated multi-district litigation involving nineteen putative class action lawsuits. See generally (“Consoli[1010]*1010dated Compl.”),

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
6 F. Supp. 3d 1004, 2013 WL 6212591, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169220, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-iphone-application-litigation-cand-2013.