Appeals Court Reverses Dismissal of Class-Action iPhone Complaint Against Apple

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a class-action antitrust complaint against Apple and remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings. Several plaintiffs sued Apple in U.S. District Court in San Francisco soon after it launched the iPhone in June 200, alleging Apple installed “software locks” on each iPhone it sold to “enforce” its five-year exclusivity agreement, said Monday's 9th Circuit opinion. The locks prevented AT&T’s iPhone customers from switching to wireless carriers that competed with AT&T, and the plaintiffs alleged that the five-year exclusivity agreement enabled the carrier to charge “supra-competitive prices for wireless services,” the opinion said. The court dismissed the complaint for failure to name AT&T as a defendant. In reversing the dismissal, the lower court “abused its discretion” in finding that AT&T was a “necessary party” in the complaint, the opinion said. The lower court also failed to identify AT&T’s “interests in this action, or address how those interests, if any, might be impaired if this action were resolved in its absence,” the opinion said. Representatives of Apple, AT&T and the plaintiffs didn’t comment Tuesday.