Apple agrees to pay $ 95 million to settle lawsuit claiming refurbished devices are not “like new”



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Apple reached a $ 95 million settlement on Friday that, pending court approval, will resolve a class action lawsuit accusing the company of violating the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and other U.S. laws by replacing customers’ devices covered by AppleCare by refurbished devices, according to court documents viewed by MacRumors.

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Apple’s repair terms and conditions for the United States state that in servicing a customer’s product, the company “may use new or refurbished parts or products and equivalent to new in terms performance and reliability “. However, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleged that the refurbished or “remanufactured” devices were not “equivalent to new in terms of performance and reliability” and therefore claimed damages from Apple.

The class includes all residents of the United States who purchased an AppleCare or AppleCare + protection plan, directly or through the iPhone Upgrade Program, as of July 20, 2012, and received a refurbished replacement device. If approved, the settlement fund will be divided equally among class members based on the number of refurbished replacement devices they have received, according to court documents.

The group is expected to receive a total of between $ 63.4 million and $ 68.1 million after legal fees and other expenses are deducted. If the settlement is approved, details will be available on ReplacementDeviceLawsuit.com, and class members will also be contacted by email or post if possible.

Apple “has vigorously denied” that the refurbished devices are inferior, but it chose to settle with the plaintiffs given the time and costs that would be associated with continuing the lawsuit, according to court documents. The plaintiffs seek court approval on October 20 or as soon as the case can be heard by the presiding judge.

The case of Maldonado et al v. Apple, Inc et al, was first filed in July 2016 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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