[Parris Law Firm] – A nationwide class action lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California alleging Apple, Inc. knowingly concealed a defect within their 2016 MacBook Pro display cable. Dubbed “Flexgate” by customers, the lawsuit alleges Apple’s thin and flexible cable rubs against internal hardware every time the laptop is opened and closed. This consistent rubbing causes the cable to fail over time.

According to the complaint, Apple is accused of knowingly selling and marketing a defective product it claimed was groundbreaking, of selling an extended warranty plan which at best covers only a portion of the repair costs (and more often covering none of the repairs), and creating a deeply flawed repair program that failed to fix countless damaged laptops.

“Imagine spending more than $2,500 on a laptop only for it to fail shortly after the manufacturer’s warranty expires,” said attorney R. Rex Parris, who is also the mayor of Lancaster. “What’s even more appalling is Apple requiring customers to spend an additional $600 to $850 to replace the screen,” Parris added.

To address consumer outcry, Apple launched the “MackBook Pro Display Backlight Service Program” where it agreed to only replace the cables on 13-inch MacBook Pro 2016 models, and refund those who already paid to have their cables fixed.  However, the program did not cover the more expensive 15-inch model and 13-inch MacBook Pros sold after 2016.

“Apple’s 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros all shared the same product defect, but Apple only included their less expensive product line within the repair program,” PARRIS attorney Alexander R. Wheeler added.

Lead Plaintiff, Mahan Taleshpour, purchased a new 2016 MacBook Pro for roughly $2,500 in April of 2017 and by January of 2020, the display screen started to fail.  On March 18, of 2020 Mahan took his laptop to an Apple Authorized Service Provider who then told him AppleCare did not cover the repair and would therefore cost him $850.