U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California
said customers failed to prove that they overpaid for their devices because
Apple knowingly concealed defects, and provided security patches that made its
devices significantly slower.
The lawsuit was filed after Apple and other companies
including Alphabet Inc’s Google revealed the Meltdown and Spectre flaws, which
could let hackers access computer devices and steal their memory contents, in
January 2018.
Apple customers claimed that the Cupertino, California-based
company learned about the defects in June 2017, but said nothing until after
the New York Times reported on the flaws.
Davila, however, said the customers did not show they relied
on Apple’s marketing, and that the company’s assertions that its products were
“secure” and built “with your privacy in mind” were too general to support
their claims.
The judge also said it was not false or misleading for Apple
to claim that its newer processors were faster and lasted longer than older
processors, just because the patches may have degraded performance.
“Plaintiffs have failed to allege an affirmative
misrepresentation, an actionable omission, and actual reliance” on
misstatements by Apple, Davila wrote.
Lawyers for the plaintiff customers did not immediately
respond to requests for comment. Davila said they can try to replead their
claims by June 30.
Meltdown affected only chips from Intel Corp, while Spectre
affected nearly all chips made in the prior decade.
In seeking a dismissal, Apple said similar lawsuits had
previously been dismissed against other manufacturers including Intel and
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
The case is In re Apple Processor Litigation, U.S. District
Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-00147. -Reuters