Apple is being sued by a San Francisco man for $1,383.13, the exact cost of his iPhone 12. He says the company refused to fix the phone while it was under warranty.

San Francisco's Apple Store. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
Apple iPhone owner sued tech giant Apple for $1,383.13, which is the exact price of his iPhone.

Theodore A. Kim filed this lawsuit at San Francisco Superior Court last Wednesday.

Kim claimed that the company refused repair his iPhone despite it being covered by warranty.

San Francisco iPhone user has sued Apple to recover the exact cost of his iPhone. The company refused to repair it despite the fact that the iPhone was under warranty.

Theodore A. Kim sued San Francisco for $1,383.13, which is the original cost of his phone. The claim was filed in small claims court.

Kim spoke out last week in a telephone interview with Insider that "it levels the playing field so that just one consumer like myself can sue big companies without having to worry about getting legal representation and all that stuff," she said. "I feel that at least I have my day in court."

According to documents, the court clerk scheduled a trial at 1.30 p.m. on November 23, 20,21. Insider reached out to Apple for comment but they did not respond.

He said that the phone Kim is suing was purchased in Vietnam from an Apple authorized seller in October 2020. He stated that the warranty on the iPhone 12 ran until October 2022.

Kim was having difficulty getting his phone to read a US simcard when he returned from the US during the pandemic. He called Apple and was told to bring the phone into an Apple Store.

Kim stated, "So I took it to the store, and they sent it to repair depot. Then they returned and said, "Yeah, but we won't fix it because it's been altered." "And I replied, "Tampered with in which way?"

He said that he didn't receive an answer. They returned the phone instead. Kim explained that the phone now had a damaged SIM tray.

Kim filed a complaint to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) a few weeks later. Apple replied to the complaint by stating that the iPhone would have been fixed if it was damaged while it was in the hands of the company.

Continue the story

According to the BBB website, Apple said that it considered the matter closed.

Kim stated that Apple refused to repair the phone under its warranty. He offered to pay for it. He said that the company refused to pay for the repair.

In the end, he sent an email in June to Apple CEO Tim Cook. He didn't hear back. He decided to search Google for solutions to his problem.

Kim stated, "And I discovered a blog post by someone in Seattle who successfully sued Apple in small claims court."

A blogger brought Apple to Washington's small claims court in 2012 after his 2008 MacBook Pro's graphics card failed. Kim believed he could have a chance in court because the blogger's experience was comparable to his.

He said, "So, I said, "Well, OK. Why don't we try the same avenue?" I laughed and said, "Well, this is like a David-and-Goliath type of situation." We'll watch and see what happens.

Business Insider has the original article.