Overview
- U.S. District Judge Noël Wise in San Jose threw out nationwide consumer protection and warranty counts and a California unjust enrichment claim, and denied injunctive relief because the original model is no longer sold.
- The court allowed fraud‑by‑omission allegations to move forward, letting plaintiffs pursue claims that Apple withheld material facts about sound quality problems.
- Plaintiffs have 21 days to amend certain dismissed state, nationwide, and warranty claims, keeping the possibility alive that some counts could be revived.
- For the surviving theory, plaintiffs must show Apple knew of the defect and concealed it after launch, with the judge calling Apple’s safety‑only disclosure argument premature to resolve.
- Customer complaints in 2020 prompted a software update and an October 2020 replacement program for units made before October 2022, and the court noted the product’s discontinuation when rejecting injunctive relief.