Apple targeted in app purchase suit

It seems that Apple has once again found itself in court. This time, a Pennsylvania man has the company in his legal crosshairs over the practice of in-application transactions.

Greg Meguerian is filing suit against Apple after his child racked up a hefty bill through in-game purchases on iOS apps. The suit alleges that the company is unlawfully allowing minors to make purchases within applications without their parents' permission.

The suit contends that the company leaves a 15-minute window after in-app purchases in which further transactions can be made without entering a password. This, it seems, could allow minors to make in-app purchases without parental approval.

This one seems a bit of a stretch, even by overly-litigous American standards. First, Apple gives the option for parents to disable in-app purchases. If a parent doesn't want to use that option, it is not Apple's fault.

And then, of course, there's the fact that the purchase is being made within a third-party application. Apple is not the company that facilitated the transaction, the developer is. Of course, small independent developers don't have lots of money to pay an out-of-court settlement, so Apple is the one getting targeted here.