Ice Dancer runs for iPod trial

OAKLAND, Calif. - The billionaire class action lawsuit against Apple is likely to continue after a business consultant Massachusetts 65, read about the struggle of the plaintiffs online events and available to represent consumers in demand.

A federal judge said he is provisionally satisfied with the proposal to add Barbara Bennett, the Wall Street Journal identified as a Boston fans ice dancer, as the new candidate named in lawsuit over Apple's iTunes software and price their iPods.

Bennett, who sometimes used his iPod to listen to music while ice skating, boarded a plane on Tuesday and flew to California at the request of lawyers who are suing Apple Inc. on behalf of an estimated 8 millions of consumers who bought iPods between 2006 and 2009.

Bennett, who said he bought a special edition iPod Nano in 2006 because he liked her stunning red case, contact the lawyers and offered to help after reading an online news account that said the case was on the verge of collapse for lack of a named author. The case actually began with three plaintiffs suing Apple for almost 10 years, but two of them retired and the judge rejected the last, Marianna Rosen, on Monday amid signs that Rosen not to buy any the affected iPods during the time period covered by the suit.

Lawyers suing Apple said the use of restrictive software, which kept iPods to play songs purchased from the iTunes Store Apple's competitors, the locked market rivals and allowed the Cupertino, California, company to sell iPods inflated prices. Apple said the software was necessary to prevent unauthorized copying. The authors are seeking $ 350 million in damages, which could be tripled if the jury finds violations of federal antitrust law.

District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has repeatedly shown impatience with lawyers for the plaintiffs for not doing a better job of enabling the original authors cited in the case, which is supposed to represent the class of affected consumers.

"We should not have been here in the first place," said Rogers as lawyers from both sides discussed how to proceed Tuesday morning. A moment later, the judge strongly disagreed when the lawyer Patrick Coughlin complainants suggested that his team had suffered when Apple provided an incorrect list - which was later changed - the affected iPod models three years ago.

"Never seen" if the last candidate had bought the right models, the judge said Coughlin. "So you do not talk to me," then he added.

Answers to questions Bennett court suggested that he was not fully aware of the complex arguments in the case, but Rogers said he was pleased that Bennett provisionally qualify for the position of class representative. The judge said he will not rule until Apple's lawyers have the opportunity to question closer to Bennett in a statement out of court.

The judge also said he hoped the decision on a request from news organizations to release a copy of a video showing the Apple CEO Steve Jobs later testify outside the courtroom, a few months before he died of cancer in 2011. THE lawyer Associated Press, Bloomberg News and CNN said Friday that the public has a right to see the video, which was played in open court last week, and there is a benefit to let the public see the same representation of influential CEO that juries are shown.

But a lawyer for Apple argued against releasing the video, saying it would be comparable to the disclosure of a witness video inside the courtroom, which is not allowed under the rules of the federal court. Apple lawyer Jonathan Sherman also said releasing the video would encourage the press or the public organizations to apply for other videos deposition in the future and discourage witnesses to cooperate.