B.C. Supreme Court approves $14.4M settlement of iPhone class-action lawsuit
The British Columbia Supreme Court has approved a countrywide multimillion-dollar settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Apple over software updates that allegedly slowed down older iPhones.
“We're pleased with the results,” said K.S. Garcha, a lawyer for the class. “It was a complex matter.”
Garcha said in an interview that the judge in the case approved the settlement at a hearing Tuesday.
Class members who make claims on the $14.4-million settlement can expect to receive between $17.50 and $150 each, depending on how many people submit a claim for the settlement money, he said.
The agreement covers eligible residents of Canada except those in Quebec, which Garcha said is about nine million people.
The settlement process took a couple of years, with Apple agreeing to a “compromise” without admitting any wrongdoing, Garcha said.
Going to trial rather than settling could've taken “a long period of time,” he said.
“The court may not approve some of the claims that you're making, there's an issue with regards to how the damages were quantified, there are potential appeals, he said.
The company “vigorously defended the thing up until the settlement negotiations,” Garcha added.
He said the class-action lawsuit involved novel legal theories about the company putting software on devices without the owners' consent.
People who owned iPhone models covered by the settlement have six months to make a claim, and the online process requires a person's name, address and iPhone serial number.
People also have to declare under oath that they downloaded or installed certain software updates on a variety of iPhone 6 and 7 models before Dec. 21, 2017.
They would have also had to have “experienced diminished performance on that device after the relevant iOS version was installed or downloaded.”
The settlement agreement with Apple will see the company pay out between $11,137,500 and $14,427,500 depending on how many claims are made and approved.
The claims website for the “Canadian iPhone Power Management Class Action,” says Quebec residents are excluded from the settlement because there's a separate, ongoing case before the courts in that province.
The B.C. lawsuit was originally filed in 2018, and Apple settled a similar case in the United States involving so-called throttling of iPhone 6 and 7 models, and Garcha said American class members ended up with US$92 payouts.
At a hearing in Vancouver in late January, Apple's lawyer Jill Yates told the court the company has never admitted wrongdoing.
“Apple, throughout, has taken a position that it has done nothing wrong here,” she said. “These claims are novel and they are not ones where Apple agrees that anything was wrongfully done.”
The company did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the settlement approval.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
LIVE UPDATES Critical infrastructure 'successfully protected': Jasper park officials
Jasper National Park officials in an update said all critical infrastructure in the townsite has been 'successfully protected, including the hospital, emergency services building, both elementary and junior/senior schools, activity centre and wastewater treatment plant.'
Canadian Olympic Committee removes women's soccer team's head coach over drone scandal
The Canadian Olympic Committee has removed women's national soccer team head coach Bev Priestman over a drone scandal, according to a press release from the organization.
Yukon woman narrowly escapes bear attack, credits hair clip
A woman in Yukon believes her hair clip helped save her during a bear attack.
Prince William's 2023 salary revealed in new report
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
'I was just shocked': Jasper lodge owner on seeing property destroyed by wildfire
On Wednesday night, the owner of Maligne Lodge in Jasper, Alta., was shocked to receive a photo of her business engulfed in flames.
Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond likely has Indigenous DNA: report
The Law Society of British Columbia says a DNA test shows a former judge and Order of Canada recipient accused of falsely claiming to be Cree "most likely" has Indigenous heritage.
U.S. authorities have arrested 'El Mayo' Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel
Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Harris pushes Netanyahu to ease suffering in Gaza: 'I will not be silent'
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to help reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden.
'She led it the whole way': 18-year-old B.C. woman leads hikers to safety in Jasper National Park
As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.