IT House reported on September 1 that technology media AppleInsider published a blog post yesterday (August 31), reporting that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District of California overturned its previous rejection last month (August 2026) and reinstated two consumers’ lawsuits filed in 2022 against Apple for third-party repairs.
IT House quoted a blog post as saying that this legal dispute can be traced back to 2021. The iPhones used by the two plaintiffs, Jesse Granato and Janice Zarad, encountered a cracked screen. During the process of seeking repairs, they were told that if they were repaired at a third-party store, the device warranty would be invalid. The two therefore switched to paying for Apple’s screen repair service.
Two plaintiffs sued Apple in 2022, accusing Apple of restricting third-party repairs through repair and warranty policies, forcing consumers to choose Apple or authorized channels and therefore pay higher fees.
The plaintiff believes that Apple requires users to choose authorized repairers, otherwise they may lose warranty service, which constitutes a restriction on consumers’ repair options.
The plaintiff claimed based on California’s Unfair Competition Law that Apple could use this to charge high maintenance fees or encourage sales of new devices by encouraging “replacement without repair.”
The Santa Clara County High Court ruled on November 15, 2024 that it supported Apple’s defense application (demurrer) and did not allow the plaintiff to amend the complaint and make another claim, thus rejecting the plaintiff’s claim.
However, the California Sixth District Court of Appeal ruled in August 2026 that a three-judge panel unanimously overturned the previous decision. The Court of Appeal has currently only restored the unfair competition-related claims and sent the case back to the lower court for continued hearing. The specific scope and amount of compensation still need to be determined in subsequent procedures.
