Apple won't face class action lawsuit over iMessage problems

If you were hoping to get a payout from Apple after an iMessage flaw prevented you from seeing some text messages on your Android phone... well, you'll probably be disappointed. Judge Lucy Koh (she of the Apple-versus-Samsung trials) has ruled that a lawsuit over iMessage's problems won't reach class action status. According to Koh, it's not clear that everyone who would have been included (basically, any American who switched away from an iPhone) was affected. Even if the plaintiff could prove that Apple's messaging tech has "systematic" problems, the judge says, that wouldn't prove that people missed out on important conversations.

This doesn't let Apple off the hook. It's still facing an individual lawsuit, and there's no guarantee that its solution (making it easier to deactivate iMessage) will convince the court that this case is unnecessary. However, the decision steals a lot of the suit's thunder. Apple probably won't pay nearly as much if it loses, and the odds are low that it'll be pushed into reaching a settlement. That's unfortunate if you were hoping that Apple would suffer a serious penalty, but it may not emerge completely unscathed.