Apple to pay $53M in iPhone & iPod liquid sensor lawsuit settlement
The resolution to a class-action lawsuit over the sensitivity of liquid damage sensors in iPhones and iPods will cost Apple $53 million, it was revealed on Tuesday.
Apple's agreed upon price in the class-action lawsuit was revealed by Bloomberg, which noted that consumers could be eligible for $300 depending on which iPhone or iPod model they owned. The terms of the settlement were detailed in court documents filed in San Francisco.
Members of the class-action complaint argued that the Liquid Submersion Indicators that have been included in various Apple products over the years are faulty, and could be triggered during normal use without actually being submerged in water. Apple's policy was to deny repairs to a broken device if the liquid indicator had been triggered.
Tuesday's report indicated that the settlement applies to customers whose warranty claims for iPhones were denied before Dec. 31, 2009, while iPod touches denied before June 2010 are also eligible for settlement funds.
The complaint dates back to April of 2010, and was first filed by San Francisco, Calif., resident Charlene Gallion. The plaintiff said she took her non-functional iPhone 3G into an Apple STore for service, and was told she was not eligible for free repair or replacement because a Liquid Submersion Indicator had been triggered.
Apple began relaxing its repair policy for iPods with triggered liquid sensors in early 2011. In some cases, if there are no external signs of corrosion, the hardware will be replaced.
Apple's agreed upon price in the class-action lawsuit was revealed by Bloomberg, which noted that consumers could be eligible for $300 depending on which iPhone or iPod model they owned. The terms of the settlement were detailed in court documents filed in San Francisco.
Members of the class-action complaint argued that the Liquid Submersion Indicators that have been included in various Apple products over the years are faulty, and could be triggered during normal use without actually being submerged in water. Apple's policy was to deny repairs to a broken device if the liquid indicator had been triggered.
Tuesday's report indicated that the settlement applies to customers whose warranty claims for iPhones were denied before Dec. 31, 2009, while iPod touches denied before June 2010 are also eligible for settlement funds.
The complaint dates back to April of 2010, and was first filed by San Francisco, Calif., resident Charlene Gallion. The plaintiff said she took her non-functional iPhone 3G into an Apple STore for service, and was told she was not eligible for free repair or replacement because a Liquid Submersion Indicator had been triggered.
Apple began relaxing its repair policy for iPods with triggered liquid sensors in early 2011. In some cases, if there are no external signs of corrosion, the hardware will be replaced.
Comments
Upwards of $300? Wonder how much the lawyers got.
They get 30% of every successful claim filed
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
They get 30% of every successful claim filed
No no no no no, that's too little...
As I understand it, they get 30% of the entire class of claims (which Apple knows, because they have a record of who's denied claims).
They also get the interest on the account, as they pay out to the individual claimants, and probably get to keep the $$ of those who ignore or did not want to claim.
Warranty was denied, I want some money!
By the way, the speakers for my newly replaced 4S also stopped working. This time, Apple fixed it right at the store in 15 minutes.
So far, Apple has always taken care of me, but we buy a lot of gear along with the Applecare.
I tried to argue with the rep at the first replacement that my iPhone had never seen liquid, but he was powerless to listen to a customer. I left thinking that mere humidity trigged that stupid strip and Apple should probably fix it.
Apple did, they no longer deny warranty without checking the internal sensors.
Interestingly enough, according to the article before the iPhone 4S was even released.
You must just be unlucky.
I wonder how I get in on this. I had a 3G that was denied a claim specifically for this reason, but have never been contacted of anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnalex731
I wonder how I get in on this. I had a 3G that was denied a claim specifically for this reason, but have never been contacted of anything.
Settlement Website has not been setup yet.
Within 10 days of the Conditional Approval Order, Apple will provide names, postal addresses and email addresses of potential class members to the court.
Apple will publish a notice in USA Today and Macworld listing the Settlement Website and a toll-free number.
First generation iPhone users can get between $215 to $300 settlement.
iPhone 3G and 3Gs $215.
iPod touch 1st, 2nd & 3rd, $105 to $265.