Apple is facing a new class-action lawsuit that accuses the company of breaching contract by offering refurbished units as replacement hardware under AppleCare+ warranties.
The case was entered July 18 via the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, on behalf of Joanne McRight, a woman whose father bought her an iPhone 5 with AppleCare+ from an Apple Store in Friendswood, Texas in December 2012. Her screen later broke, and in September 2013 McRight paid AppleCare+’s then-$49 accidental damage fee to secure a replacement.
That device’s screen also broke, and she paid another $49 in May 2015. McRight’s lawyers say neither of the devices were new, or “equivalent to new in both performance and reliability,” as noted in the official terms for AppleCare+. McRight argues that refurbished devices Apple offers as replacements do not qualify.
The plaintiff’s father then bought her an iPhone 6 in September 2014, and bought AppleCare+ for that handset, which also suffered a broken screen, for which she paid a $79 accidental damage fee for repair. Apple again gave her a refurbished unit as a replacement. (What is this lady doing to these handsets? – Ed.)
The proposed class-action will cover any customer who purchased AppleCare or AppleCare+ between July 11, 2011 and the present. The device covered need not be an iPhone.
McRight’s attorneys are also asking that Apple be forced to provide new devices to people needing replacements, and are also asking for legal fees and damages totaling at least $5 million.
