Replacement Device Lawsuit

If you purchased AppleCare Protection Plan or AppleCare+ for an iPhone or iPad, either directly or through the iPhone Upgrade Program, on or after July 20, 2012, and received a remanufactured replacement iPhone or iPad, you could be included in a class action lawsuit.

A lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Court”) against Apple Inc., AppleCare Service Company, Inc., and Apple CSC Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”). Plaintiffs’ claims arise out of two extended service plans offered by Apple Inc.: AppleCare+ and its predecessor AppleCare Protection Plan.

The terms and conditions for AppleCare Protection Plan and AppleCare+ provided that when a customer sought service for a covered iPhone or iPad due to a hardware defect or accidental damage, Apple Inc. would either repair the device or replace it with a device that was either “new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability.”

One of the types of replacements customers can receive under AppleCare Protection Plan and AppleCare+ is a remanufactured iPhone or iPad. Plaintiffs allege that remanufactured devices are not “equivalent to new in performance and reliability” and assert claims against Defendants for breach of contract, alleged violations of the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act and Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, and alleged violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200.

On September 16, 2019, the Court certified a Class for purposes of litigating the merits of the case.

Plaintiffs reached a Settlement with Defendants, and the parties have memorialized that Settlement in a Settlement Agreement dated September 30, 2021.

Defendants deny any wrongdoing, and the Court did not decide whether Defendants did anything wrong. If the case had proceeded, Plaintiffs would have been required to prove their claims against Defendants at a trial.

Your legal rights may be affected whether you act or don’t act. These rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained on this website. Please read this website carefully.

Your Legal Rights and Options

Ask to be Excluded	Get out of this Settlement. Get no benefits from it. If you are receiving notice for the first time (because you received a remanufactured replacement iPad or iPhone between October 1, 2019, and September 30, 2021), you may request to be excluded from the Settlement. To do this, you must submit a valid request for exclusion to remove yourself from the Settlement by March 4, 2022. If you ask to be excluded, you will not receive any money from the Settlement but you will keep any right to sue Defendants separately about the claims in this lawsuit. This is the only option that allows you to retain your right to sue Defendants for claims that would otherwise be released by a judgment in the lawsuit, whether that judgment is favorable to the Class or not. If you received a remanufactured replacement iPhone or iPad between July 20, 2012, and September 30, 2019, the deadline to request exclusion has expired and you are part of the Class (unless you previously submitted a timely and valid request for exclusion).
Object	If you are a Class Member, you may write to the Court about why you don’t like the Settlement with the Defendants. Objections must be received by March 4, 2022.
Attend the Final Fairness Hearing	You may request to speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement.
Do Nothing	If you are a Class Member and you do nothing regarding the Settlement, you will remain part of the Settlement and you may participate in any monetary distribution. The Settlement will resolve your claims against Defendants, and you will give up your rights to sue Defendants about the Released Claims (as defined in the Settlement Agreement). You will be bound by the judgment.