Apple failed in its bid to challenge an £853 million ($1 billion) proposed class action accusing the tech giant of concealing problems with batteries in the phones of 24 million customers. An appeals court ruled Friday that the claim has prospects of success.

Apple £853M IPhone Battery Class Action : Court of Appeal Decision

The Court of Appeal determined that Britain's antitrust tribunal was justified in allowing Justin Gutmann, the representative of the proposed class, to sue Apple on behalf of iPhone users in the U.K. Gutmann's claim alleges Apple hid problems with defective batteries from iPhone users.

The court dismissed Apple's argument that Gutmann had no real prospect of proving at trial that consumer backlash would have forced Apple to compensate users had the battery flaws been known.

"This was an evaluative decision that the [Competition Appeal Tribunal] was entitled to reach on the evidence before it ... and we do not think that there is any realistic prospect that this court would interfere with it," the two-judge panel stated.

Apple £853M IPhone Battery Class Action : Collective Proceedings Order

Apple sought to overturn a CAT decision from November that provisionally granted Gutmann a collective proceedings order, contingent on resolving funding arrangement questions. The claim asserts that Apple abused its dominance in the software and hardware markets to conceal performance problems with batteries in certain phone models. Apple is also accused of installing a power management feature (PMF) that limited performance.

Class Representative and Technical Issues

The court affirmed the CAT's decision to allow Gutmann to act as proposed class representative, despite him not being an iPhone user. Apple portrayed Gutmann as "a professional litigant" with no connection to the affected consumers. However, the tribunal found these arguments lacked merit.

"The technical issues in this trial are not difficult to grasp and can be understood and assimilated by someone who has not owned an iPhone," the panel noted. "It is the likely collective response of consumers and Apple's attitude towards it, rather than any individual's personal experience, that will be significant."

Apple £853M IPhone Battery Class Action : Claims Post-December 2017

The court also refused to strike out any claims after December 2017, when Apple published information about the batteries in response to press coverage. Apple bears the burden of proving that any abusive behavior and its effects ceased following the December 2017 announcement.

Ongoing Legal Battles

Apple faces similar claims and regulatory investigations in other jurisdictions over the PMF. The company has agreed to settle a class action in the U.S. for up to $500 million and has reached a $113 million regulatory settlement. In France, Apple was fined €25 million ($27 million) for not informing consumers that software updates would slow down older devices.

Claimants estimate that affected iPhones in the U.K. were worth £25 less, on average, than their purchase price, totaling at least £853 million in losses due to reduced functionality.

Legal Representation

Justices Nicholas Green and Richard Snowden presided over the Court of Appeal. Apple is represented by Daniel Piccinin KC of Brick Court Chambers and Lucinda Cunningham of Matrix Chambers, instructed by Covington & Burling LLP. Gutmann is represented by Philip Moser KC and Natalie Nguyen of Monckton Chambers, instructed by Charles Lyndon Ltd.