Apple last year agreed to a $95 million settlement for an AppleCare-related lawsuit accusing the Cupertino company of violating U.S. laws and regulations by providing customers with refurbished replacement devices when AppleCare-related repairs were needed.
The class action lawsuit [PDF] was first filed against Apple back in July 2016 by California customers that were not happy that Apple had replaced their faulty iPhone and iPad devices with refurbished devices under their AppleCare and AppleCare+ plans.
Plaintiffs, Vicky Maldondo and Joanne McRight claimed Apple’s replacing of faulty devices with refurbished devices violates its own AppleCare Terms and Conditions and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
Administrators for the case began collecting info from impacted customers in January, and the settlement amount received final approval in April.
Apple is now preparing to send out payments. Customers who are expecting money are starting to receive emails that read as follows (Via MacRumors).
According to our records, you are eligible to receive a payment of $28.90 in the settlement for the matter entitled Maldonado, et al. v. Apple Inc., et al., Case No. 3:16-CV-04067-WHO.
As Settlement Administrator for the matter, we’re sending you this courtesy email to inform you that by August 30, 2022, you will receive a payment notification email that contains a link to claim your payment electronically. Once you receive that email, you will have until November 28, 2022 to claim your payment.
Please monitor your email inbox carefully for our next email. Additional details about the matter are available at www.ReplacementDeviceLawsuit.com.
The lawsuit sought to get compensation for iPhone, iPad, and iPod owners that purchased AppleCare or AppleCare+ coverage for their device between July 20, 2012, and September 30, 2021 and who received a refurbished replacement device.
Although Apple paid $95 million to settle the lawsuit, it admitted no wrongdoing and continues to deny that refurbished devices are inferior to new devices.