Apple Warranty Settlement, Eligible Customers Could Get Total of $65 Million

Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement that will resolve a class action lawsuit over the company’s AppleCare Warranty, first filed on July 20, 2016.  Plaintiffs Vicky Maldonado and Justin Carter filed a motion for preliminary approval of the Apple settlement in a California federal court on Oct. 1.

Apple customers claim that the tech giant didn’t honor its AppleCare Warranty when it replaced broken smartphones and tablets with inferior “remanufactured” products. Apple’s Repair Terms and Conditions for the U.S. state that, when servicing a customer’s product, the company “may use parts or products that are new or refurbished and equivalent to new in performance and reliability.” 

Plaintiffs are asking the Court to award Class members monetary damages equal to the difference in value, if any, between the replacement iPhone or iPad they received and the value of a new or equivalent to new iPhone or iPad they were promised.

Related: See All Settlement Rebates Here

The class includes all U.S. residents who purchased an AppleCare Protection Plan or AppleCare+, either directly or through the iPhone Upgrade Program, on or after July 20, 2012, and received a refurbished replacement device. If approved, the settlement fund will be divided equally among the class members based on the number of refurbished replacement devices they received.

Eligible class members would likely get about $65 million once administrative costs, incentive awards, and attorneys’ fees and costs have been deducted from the total award.

Apple “vigorously denied” that refurbished devices are inferior, but it opted to settle with the plaintiffs given the time and costs that would be associated with a continued trial.

Once the settlement is approved, details will be available at ReplacementDeviceLawsuit.com, and class members will also be contacted by email or mail if possible.

HT: Mac Rumors