Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement for the class-action lawsuit regarding the company’s refurbished replacement devices, awaiting the court’s approval. The case accuses the tech giant of violating Magnuson-Moss Warrant Act and other U.S consumer laws by replacing under warranty damaged devices with refurbished devices instead of new ones.
The case was filed at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in 2016 by an aggrieved iPad owner who went to court after receiving a non-functional replacement tablet. Contrary to Apple’s claim that replacement devices “may use parts or products that are new or refurbished and equivalent to new in performance and reliability”, the case argued that refurbished models are not “equivalent to new”. In 2019, “the Court certified a class for purposes of litigating the merits of the case.” Recently, it was reported that the case would go to trial on August 16, 2021.
Consumers who purchased AppleCare plans for iPhones or iPads after July 20, 2012, will be eligible for a $95 million settlement fund
As per the ‘Replacement Device Lawsuit’ information page, all consumer who purchases Apple’s warranty plans after July 2012 will be eligible for the $95 million settlement fund, after it is approved by the court.
If you purchased AppleCare Protection Plan or AppleCare+ for an iPhone or iPad, either directly or through the iPhone Upgrade Program, on or after July 20, 2012, and received a remanufactured replacement iPhone or iPad, you could be included in a class action lawsuit.
The terms and conditions for AppleCare Protection Plan and AppleCare+ provide that when a customer seeks service for a covered iPhone or iPad due to a hardware defect or accidental damage, Apple Inc. will either repair the device or replace it with a device that is either “new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability.”
It must be kept in mind that the Cupertino tech giant has not accepted any wrongdoing on its part and agreed to settle the case to avoid long trial and litigation fees. The company is also facing a new class-action lawsuit over M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro screen; users accuse Apple of shipping devices with poor quality screens which crack during normal usage. They also claim that the company did not sell the products with a ‘fragile’ warning.
