A 65-year-old Massachusetts business consultant has emerged as the potential new representative for plaintiffs in a billion-dollar class-action lawsuit over Apple's iTunes software and the price of its iPods.
A federal judge said she's tentatively satisfied with a proposal to add Barbara Bennett as the case's new named plaintiff. Bennett, who sometimes used her iPod to listen to music while ice skating, boarded a plane early on Tuesday and flew to California at the request of lawyers who are suing Apple on behalf of an estimated eight million consumers who purchased iPods between 2006 and 2009.
Bennett, who said she bought a special-edition iPod Nano in 2006 because she liked its striking red case, contacted the lawyers and offered to help after reading an online news account that said the case was close to collapsing for lack of a named plaintiff.
The case actually started with three plaintiffs suing Apple nearly 10 years ago, but two of them withdrew and the judge disqualified the last one, Marianna Rosen, on Monday amid indications that Rosen didn't herself purchase any of the affected iPods during the time frame covered by the suit.
Lawyers suing Apple have alleged that its use of restrictive software, which kept iPods from playing music purchased from competitors of Apple's iTunes store, effectively blocked rivals from the market and allowed the company to sell iPods at inflated prices.
Apple says the software was necessary to prevent unauthorised copying. The plaintiffs are seeking $US350 million ($A378.69 million) in damages, which could be tripled if the jury finds violations of federal antitrust law.
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