Judge Tosses Lawsuit Claiming Apple Sold MacBooks With Defective Logic Boards

It looks as though Apple will escape another courtroom battle. U.S. District Judge William Alsup has rejected a lawsuit that claimed that Apple knowingly sold MacBook computers with defective logic boards

The plaintiffs, Uriel Marcus and Benedict Verceles, filed the original putative class action complaint back in May 2014. They claimed that even though Apple billed the MacBook Pro as “the world’s most advanced notebook,” it was a defective machine that was doomed to failure.

Marcus purchased a MacBook Pro in May 2012, only to have its logic board fail after 18 months of regular use. Apple confirmed that the logic board failed and declined to repair the machine free of charge because it was well outside of the warranty period. A Genius Bar employee reportedly told Marcus, “You should have bought the warranty,” referring to the AppleCare extended warranty.

Verceles, on the other hand, bought a new MacBook Pro in July 2011, only to have the logic board fail just a month later. The logic board was replaced under warranty by Apple, but failed once again two years later. Again, Apple declined to offer a free replacement/repair for the defective part.

Marcus and Verceles leveled a number of claims against Apple including numerous violations of both Texas and California consumer protection laws, and breach of warranty. The pair also accused Apple of “selling defective and non-merchantable laptops,” “failing to use reasonable care in testing its laptops,” and “continuing to sell its defective laptops after learning that the logic boards would fail prematurely.”

But Judge Alsup wasn’t buying what Marcus and Verceles were trying to sell, indicating that they failed to prove that Apple acted with malice. "Plaintiffs have failed to allege that Apple's logic boards were unfit for their ordinary purposes or lacked a minimal level of quality," said Judge Alsup. "Both plaintiffs were able to adequately use their computers for approximately 18 months and two years, respectively."

Judge Alsup has given the plaintiffs until January 22 to amend their existing complaint.