I first wrote about the cases on the iPhone 3G showing hairline cracks very soon after the 3G model was released. Nothing really happened after that; the story seemed to peter out, despite the large number of complaints on various forums.
However, now a lawsuit has been filed, mostly over the 3G reception issues which plagued the device until the 2.1 software update, but with the addition of accusations that Apple is ignoring the issues with hairline cracks afflicting the device's case.
The lawsuit was filed in a New York district court by Avi Koschitzki. What's interesting is that when trying to find out more about Koschitzki, I find that he's also been the defendant in a recent lawsuit (.PDF) involving his company, Out of the Box Promotions --- or rather, how he allegedly defrauded his partner in that company.
The complaint alleges numerous acts of misconduct on the part of Koschitzki, including using an Out of the Box credit account to credit his personal debit card and using company accounts for personal matters, such as sending items to his home, shipping furniture from China, and purchasing items at Home Depot and other retailers. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Koschitzki used the defendant company Kosch Design, LLC (hereinafter Kosch Design), doing business as "Out of the Box Group," which he formed without Hellman's knowledge, to divert orders from current customers of Out of the Box to Kosch Design, and undermined the confidence of potential customers of Out of the Box by informing them, falsely, that the company was financially unsound and would not be able to fill their orders.In and of itself, that doesn't say anything in particular about this new lawsuit, where Koschitzki is the plaintiff rather than the defendant, but it should raise some suspicions.
With regard to the 3G issues, the lawsuit says:"Based upon information and belief the 3G iPhones demand too much power from the 3G bandwidths and the AT&T infrastructure is insufficient to handle this overwhelming 3G signal based on the high volume of 3G iPhones it and Apple have sold."In terms of the cracks, the lawsuit continues:
"Although Apple was and is aware that the iPhones were and are defective, and that consumers have experienced repeated instances of cracked housing, Apple has nevertheless allowed the defectively designed iPhones to be sold to the public."The lawsuit seeks class action status; it was filed on Nov. 4th and names AT&T as a co-defendant.