Apple to Pay $95 Million to Settle Lawsuit Claiming Refurbished Devices Are Not New

BY Chandraveer Mathur

Published 5 Oct 2021

Apple Independent Repair Program

Apple has offered to settle a class-action lawsuit over refurbished products at a cost of $95 million.

According to Law360, plaintiffs have sought a California federal court’s approval for a $95 million settlement to resolve allegations that Apple failed to honor its warranties and violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, and other US laws. The allegations are that Apple replaces broken iPhone and iPad devices with remanufactured or refurbished units that were not as good as new.

In a motion for preliminary approval, plaintiffs Vicky Maldonado and Justin Carter said that Apple’s offer represents 13-25% of the total class claims worth. The duo remarked that it was an “outstanding” result since proceeding with the trial would risk no recovery at all.

This class-action suit initially filed in July 2016 sought monetary damages from Apple. The Cupertino giant refuted allegations of wrongdoing. The suit covers all US residents who “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.”

The settlement website pointed to Apple’s terms and conditions that say AppleCare and AppleCare+ customers can receive repairs or replacement devices that are either “new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability.” The suit alleges that the refurbished devices are not equivalent in this regard.

Apple has now offered $95 million to settle the suit and the class affected has reportedly requested the court to consider accepting the offer on October 20 or as soon as possible thereafter. It is estimated that the affected class stands to receive between $63.4 million and $68.1 million after attorneys’ fees and other costs have been accounted for.

According to the court documents, Apple chose to settle with the plaintiffs only because of the time and costs associated with a continued trial.