U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Apple iCloud Storage Misrepresentation Claim

A U.S. federal appeals court has dismissed claims that Apple misled customers about iCloud storage allocations in its paid plans. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled unanimously that Apple delivered the storage exactly as advertised, rejecting a class-action lawsuit brought by plaintiff Lisa Bodenburg.

Bodenburg alleged she paid $2.99 per month for 200 GB of iCloud+ storage, believing it would be added to the free 5 GB provided to all users, for a total of 205 GB. Instead, Apple offered only 200 GB total, prompting accusations of deceptive marketing.

Circuit Judge Milan Smith stated that Apple’s description of its storage as “incremental” or “supplemental” made it clear the plan replaced, rather than added to, the free tier. He compared the claim to previous lawsuits dismissed over “unreasonable assumptions,” such as beliefs that Diet Dr. Pepper aids weight loss or that lip balm labels misled about usable content.

The court concluded Apple’s statements were not false or deceptive simply because a small segment of consumers misunderstood them. The decision upholds a May 2024 ruling by U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson dismissing the suit.

Lawyers for Bodenburg have not commented on whether they will pursue further legal action. The case is titled Bodenburg v. Apple Inc., No. 24-3335, in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

This ruling reinforces Apple’s iCloud service marketing practices and highlights courts’ growing tendency to dismiss cases based on fringe consumer misinterpretations. It also underscores the need for clear product descriptions in subscription-based digital services to avoid future litigation.