A judge in California has give the go ahead for a class action lawsuit against Apple [AAPL] and AT&T [T], and basically the judge has said that civil lawsuits filed against Apple and AT&T since 2007, which addressed antitrust concerns could be consolidated into a single class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit could cover anyone who has purchased an iPhone in the US and signed up for a two year contract with AT&T.
All persons who purchased or acquired an iPhone in the United States and entered into a two-year agreement with Defendant AT&T Mobility, LLC for iPhone voice and data service any time from June 29, 2007, to the present.
The lawsuit will cover the carrier and device lock-in, where customers were unable to unlock their iPhone’s after the two year contract was up and that they were really forced into a five year contract with AT&T, as they were unable to take their iPhone’s to another carrier.
There is also the possibility that this could change into a much larger case against Apple and AT&T, just like the DOJ vs Microsoft case, as the US Department Of Justice has been investigation Apple regarding iTunes and their iPhone developer agreement.
via ZDNet