Apple Warranty Water Damage: Cupertino to Pay $53 Million Over Warranties Lawsuit

Apple will pay $53 million to settle a lawsuit over its warranty.

According to Bloomberg, the class-action lawsuit was filed by consumers alleging Apple used flawed indicators to figure out if iPhones and iPods were exposed to water. The claim added that Apple used the indicators to deny warranty claims.

Consumers who filed the suit may be eligible for up to $300 pending on the iPhone or iPod model they own. The Wall Street Journal noted up to 153,000 customers are part of the lawsuit.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs claimed the Apple devices in question could attract moisture under conventional circumstances and not by directly colliding with liquids. Apple has denied the claims and supported the use of their indicators.

"Customers whose warranty claims for iPhones were denied before Dec. 31, 2009, on the basis of Apple's liquid damage policy and claims for iPod Touches that were denied before June 2010 are eligible for settlement funds," reported Bloomberg's Karen Gullo.

In addition, lawyers for the consumers could claim as much as 30 percent of the $53 million settlement for their legal fees.

The Apple settlement, however, is not final as it awaits court approval.

The lawsuit is the latest of Apple's ongoing court cases ahead of its second patent infringement trial against Samsung Electronics Co. The second patent infringement trial is set for spring 2014, where both sides have accused the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 of infringing a patent. Additional accused products, according to Apple, are the Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. As Latinos Post reported last week, Apple has filed to add the Galaxy S4 to the list of allegedly infringed patents.

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