Apple has agreed to pay $53 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accuses the Cupertino company of failing to honor warranties on iPhones and iPod touches. The settlement could see hundreds of thousands of Apple customers receiving a payout after being refused repairs or replacements on faulty devices still under warranty.
The settlement will be filed in a San Francisco court in the coming weeks, according to Wired, which has obtained a copy of the agreement signed by Apple chief litigation counsel Noreen Krall. Despite agreeing to pay $53 million, Apple admits no wrongdoing in the settlement, which needs a judges approval.
The lawsuits alleged that Apple refused to honor warranties on iPhone and iPod touches — no matter what the problem — if the white indicator tape embedded within them had turned red or pink, indicating that they may have been subjected to liquid damage.
However, the tape’s manufacturer, 3M, has said that humidity and not water contact could have caused the color change.
The original iPhone, the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS, and the first-, second-, and third-generation iPod touches are all included in the suits. “Payouts are around $200 and could be less or double based on the number of claims submitted,” Wired reports.
Source: Wired
