Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) just settled on an agreement for $53 million over the iPhone and iPod Touch warranties. Wired published the settlement information which is set to be submitted to court sometime next week.
The case originally started in 2010 when there were numerous lawsuits filed against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) over the company’s refusal to fix faulty devices that were still legally under the warranty. All the cases were combined into one class-action lawsuit that’s still pending. Although Apple still claims they didn’t do anything wrong, they decided to pay up $53 million in an agreement.
The court filing states, “Apple has agreed to enter into this settlement agreement to avoid the further expense, inconvenience, and distraction of burdensome litigation.”
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s general warranty is for one year but the company also offers extended warranties that are good for two years. The warranty is void if they detect damages caused by abuse, misuse, accidents or water. The warranty is only good on cases of failing hardware.
Apple can tell if a device has been submitted into water by testing it with Liquid Submersion Indicator which will turn the devices pink if they have been in water. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) used this test on the devices submitted by the plaintiff and denied them assistance over the phones.
The only problem with Apple’s test is that sometimes Liquid Submersion Indicator isn’t always so accurate. The original complaint read, “External Liquid Submersion Indicators can be triggered by other types of moisture that should not cause damage in any event—such as a palm that becomes sweaty after a work-out, and other small amounts of moisture to which the devices would be exposed during ordinary, foreseeable use.”
Although Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) disagrees with the plaintiff, they are offering a deal to close up the case. Should their offer be approved by the court, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will have a 15-day time frame to pay up the $53 million in the settlement fund. Those involved in the lawsuit will then be notified on how they can apply for their piece of the settlement.
