Apple has agreed to pay $53 million to settle a 2010 class action lawsuit that accused them of failing to honor warranties on certain models of iPhones and iPod touches.
The settlement, which should be filed in San Francisco federal court in the next couple of weeks, provides cash payouts to possibly hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPod Touch customers that say Apple did not honor either their one-year standard or two-year extended warranty.
The lawsuit states that, no matter what problem a customer was having with their device, Apple would refuse to honor a warranty if the white indicator embedded in the phone near the headphone or charging portals had turned pink or red. This, even though the manufacturer of the tape, 3M, had admitted that humidity, and not contact with water, could cause the tape to at least turn pink.
Apple changed their damage assessment procedures in November 2010, instructing repair staff to inspect the devices even if the indicator tape has changed color.
Affected devices in the lawsuit include the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and the first, second and third generation iPod Touch. Potential payouts could be around $200 or less, depending on the number of claims submitted.
Noreen Krall, Apple’s chief litigation counsel, signed the settlement yesterday. The standard “Apple admits no wrongdoing,” wording is of course included in the settlement, and it still has to be approved by the presiding judge.
