Siri Misleading Adds Take Apple To Court

“Misleading messages” about Apple’s well known product Siri are the reason for the latest lawsuit against the big communications company. The suit, filed in Regina by Merchant Law Group, notes a press release introducing Siri lauded it as "an intelligent assistant," the article adds. After buying an iPhone 4S, Regina resident Catlin Hendriks -- - the only named plaintiff at this point -- claims Siri didn't work as advertised.

The statement of claim notes Apple’s video advertisements showed individuals using Siri, which became available with the iPhone 4S in October, to “make appointments, find restaurants, and even learn guitar chords to classic rock songs or how to tie a tie.”

“Siri either did not understand what the plaintiff was asking or, after a very long wait time, responded with the wrong answer. The plaintiff quickly recognized the futility of using Siri,” contends the suit.

A statement of claim contains allegations not yet proven in court. The proposed class is all persons in Canada who bought an Apple iPhone 4S. The suit cannot proceed as a class action until it receives approval by a judge.

A spokesperson with Apple Canada's corporate office said its company policy is not to comment on litigation. A statement of defense has not yet been filed.

This is the third such lawsuit; the two others are based in the U.S. Earlier this week a new suit was filed in a U.S. District Court by a California resident named David Jones, who argues that Apple oversells Siri's abilities in advertising and TV commercials, reports the "L.A. Times".

“It contends Apple took advantage of consumers, violated consumer protection legislation and caused “substantial injury” to the plaintiff and other members of the proposed class, who have lost money.

Among the compensation sought, the suit seeks a refund in the difference in purchase price between the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4 (without Siri), and damages for “loss of use, annoyance and inconvenience.”

The Regina suit claims Apple knew of the Siri's "shortcomings" before its distribution. "Indeed, buried in Apple's website is the amorphous sentence: 'Siri is currently in beta and we'll continue to improve it over time,'" it says. The suit claims Apple didn't disclose that the Siri transactions in its commercials are fictitious and real consumers can't expect it to perform such tasks.

E.F. Anthony "Tony" Merchant, Q.C. (born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan) is a lawyer and former politician. He is senior counsel at Merchant Law Group LLP, which has offices across Canada including in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. Several of the largest lawsuits in Canadian history have originated from Merchant Law Group LLP's offices, multi-Billion dollar class-action lawsuits concerning Celebrex/Bextra, Vioxx, 911 Fees, defective automobiles, Facebook user security problems and shareholder class actions. Merchant Law Group has major involvement in the residential school lawsuits in Canada.