A New York iPhone 3G user has filed a class action suit against Apple and AT&T Wireless, claiming the device does not deliver promised network capabilities and the smartphone's casing is prone to hairline cracks.

The suit, filed September 29 in Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau, by Avi Koschitzki, initially alleged that Apple and AT&T misrepresented network performance speed.

Koschitzki's lawyers amended the complaint on November 12 to include the casing defect claim. The plaintiffs seek statutory, compensatory and punitive damages and want a jury trial.

"Due to the overloaded 3G network, it is quite common for iPhone users to only be on the 3G network for a few minutes before being bumped to the slower EDGE network, despite being in geographic areas allegedly rich with 3G network coverage," states the complaint.

An AT&T Wireless spokesperson told InternetNews.com the carrier had no comment on the New York legal action.

In regard to the hairline crack issue, the lawsuit claims Apple was aware of the issue due to Internet postings about the problem, including a thread on Apple's discussion Web site.

"There have been postings by customers on the Internet who have aired their grievances through Apple's own discussion groups and instead of receiving a response concerning the hairline cracks from Apple, Apple allegedly removed the discussion thread from its Web site," states the complaint.

The New York legal action comes three months after two Alabama residents filed a similar suit. AT&T and Apple have until Monday, November 24 to respond to the legal action.

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