AirPods Max condensation lawsuit significantly narrowed by judge

Brooklyn federal judge Orelia E. Merchant has dismissed most claims in a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that Apple’s AirPods Max suffer from a condensation defect. Here are the details.

A bit of background

Soon after Apple released the AirPods Max in December 2020, some users noticed condensation forming inside the aluminum ear cups, including during light exercise or while simply watching a movie.

In some cases, users said the moisture appeared to seep through the speaker openings toward the drivers.

While Apple has never acknowledged condensation as a widespread AirPods Max defect, the issue has led to multiple legal challenges.

One of them was filed by Arthur Apicella of New York and Dustin Amundson of Washington, who alleged that moisture forming during normal indoor use caused connectivity problems, degraded sound quality, ear-detection failures, and battery issues.

Which brings us to today.

Judge tosses most claims

According to Law360 (via MacRumors), Judge Merchant dismissed all claims brought under New York law with prejudice, meaning they cannot be filed again.

That decision removed Apicella from the case entirely, including his claims that Apple breached the implied warranty of merchantability, violated federal warranty law and New York consumer-protection statutes, concealed the alleged defect, and was unjustly enriched by selling the headphones without disclosing it.

The lawsuit will continue, however, with Amundson’s complaint. Although the judge also dismissed his express warranty and unjust enrichment claims, she allowed him to “proceed with his claims under Washington state law’s implied warranty of merchantability and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act,” according to Law360.

In her decision, Judge Merchant said New York’s implied warranty of merchantability does not require a product to be perfect or meet every customer expectation. Rather, “it only requires that the goods sold be of a minimal level of quality.” And because Apicella acknowledged that he had used the AirPods Max to watch a movie, the judge found that the headphones still performed their basic function.

With most claims dismissed with prejudice, the case will proceed on Amundson’s two surviving warranty claims. He also has until August 5 to seek permission to revive his Washington consumer-protection and fraud claims, with Apple’s opposition due by September 4.

What’s your take on the AirPods Max‘s condensation issues? Let us know in the comments

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