A number of Macintosh dealers are suing Apple Computer, charging the computer maker with a host of business wrongs ranging from overbilling to poaching customers to stocking its own stores with new gear unavailable to resellers.
Three suits have been filed in recent months by Apple dealers, including San Francisco-based Macadam Computer, Los Angeles-based Computer International, and Oregon-based MacTech Systems. The resellers charge Apple with breach of its contract and fraud, saying the computer maker hurt their business by failing to pay them for repairs they made under warranty, by overcharging them for parts, and by disparaging the dealers to potential customers in an effort to gain more direct sales business.
An Apple representative declined to comment on the cases, which were filed over the past four months in Santa Clara Superior Court in San Jose, Calif. Apple has sought to have at least some of the cases moved to federal court, but the company has not addressed the specific allegations, according to court records. All three Mac dealers are represented by Marcus Merchasin, a San Francisco-based lawyer.
Source: CNet