Apple Agrees to $18M FaceTime Class Action Settlement

UPDATE: November 2020, the Apple FaceTime class action settlement is now open. Click here to learn more.

Apple has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve claims that the company disabled iPhone FaceTime features for older phones in order to save costs.

The deal was recently filed in court for preliminary approval with plaintiffs Christina Grace and Ken Potter arguing that the deal is fair and reasonable.

The plaintiffs also note that, through Apple’s email records, they will be able to reach more than 90 percent of the proposed settlement Class.

If approved, the $18 million Apple class action settlement would benefit California consumers who owned non-jailbroken Apple iPhone 4 or 4S devices running iOS 6 or earlier.

“Jailbreaking” is a process which removes a device’s factory limitations and allows for additional, unauthorized functions. Typically, jailbreaking a phone exempts it from warranty coverage and, in the case of the proposed iPhone FaceTime class action deal, settlement payments.

An estimated 3.6 million devices were affected by the alleged iPhone FaceTime issues. The settlement motion states that, if each Class Member files a claim, they would be able to receive an estimated payment of $3 each.

According to the iPhone FaceTime class action settlement motion, Apple has email addresses for 90 percent of the affected consumers who would consist of the the settlement Class.

For other consumers, the company reportedly has physical addresses, meaning that the settlement administrator would be able to easily send payments electronically or through the mail.

The rest of the proposed iPhone FaceTime class action settlement would go towards attorneys’ fees, costs, incentive awards, and administrative costs.

Class counsel reportedly plans to ask for up to 30 percent of the settlement fund, or $5.4 million, in attorneys’ fees and an additional $1.1 million for court costs.

Each named plaintiff will request an incentive award of up to $7,500 for their work as Class representatives.

Administrative costs, which will be used to distribute payments, inform Class Members and serve other administrative functions, will reportedly be around $1.4 million.

The iPhone FaceTime class action settlement motion notes that any remaining settlement funds will be distributed to a cy pres recipient rather than reverting back to Apple.

The plaintiffs argue that the settlement is a favorable resolution to three years of litigation and mediation. Should the litigation continue, both parties would be forced to pay more and Class Members may not see relief, according to the Apple class action settlement motion.

“The proposed settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate and meets all requirements for preliminary approval,” the iPhone FaceTime class action settlement motion argues.

“Absent a settlement, the Class would be subject to the risk of uncertainty at trial and on appeal, and would incur additional expenses through further litigation.”

Grace filed her iPhone FaceTime class action lawsuit in February 2017, claiming that Apple intentionally disabled the video chat services in older phones in order to save money and force consumers to upgrade to more expensive phones.

Allegedly, Apple developed a new version of FaceTime to cut down on the costs of using third-party services.

Although this helped resolve the excessive costs for the company, users of older iPhones running iOS 6 were unable to use the video chat service.

In order to restore use of the iPhone FaceTime service, users were reportedly forced to upgrade their phones to iOS 7. However, this operating system was allegedly incompatible with older phones such as the iPhone 4 and 4S.

According to Grace’s iPhone FaceTime class action lawsuit, she and other consumers were essentially forced to upgrade their phones to a newer, more expensive model or give up the ability to use the video chat system.

In September 2018, Grace secured Class certification for a California state Class of iPhone owners. In August 2019, the iPhone FaceTime class action lawsuit secured another win when a federal judge denied Apple’s dismissal motion.

Apple has not admitted any wrongdoing by agreeing to pay $18 million in the proposed iPhone FaceTime class action settlement.

Have you had issues with iPhone FaceTime features? Do you think you would benefit from the proposed settlement? Let us know in the comments section below.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

Plaintiffs and the settlement Class are represented by Allan Steyer, Jill M. Manning and D. Scott Macrae of Steyer Lowenthal Boodrookas Alvarez & Smith LLP, Bruce L. Simon, Clifford H. Pearson, Thomas J. Nolan, Daniel L. Warshaw and Alexander L. Simon of Pearson Simon & Warshaw LLP, David F.E. Tejtel of Friedman Oster & Tejtel PLLC and Bradley W. Caldwell, Jason D. Cassady and John Austin Curry of Caldwell Cassady & Curry.

The Apple iPhone FaceTime Class Action Lawsuit is Grace, et al. v. Apple Inc., Case No. 5:17-cv-00551, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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