14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is being requested to pay $600,000 in uninsured losses to a couple in Canada, after an iPhone 6 allegedly burned down their farmhouse and forced them to close their business.
Cathy and Ian Finley say a fire destroyed their house in October 2016, leading to the couple having to shut down the farm they were using for kids camps and sustainable farming tours, CBC reports.
While the cause of the fire isn’t entirely clear, firefighters blamed the iPhone 6, which at the moment of the incident was charging in the living room. The officials believe the device overheated and set a chair on fire, eventually starting a fire in the room and then expanding to the entire house.
“I was having problems with my phone. It had been glitching in the days running up to the fire,” Cathy Finley has been quoted as saying by the cited source. The woman says she then went out to feed the goats, only to later see smoke coming out from the house.
“I remember seeing smoke. When I got about two meters from the house, the heat was intense. I couldn't get any closer. I opened the door, but I was just engulfed in smoke. And then it was just a scramble. My phone was in the house, so I scrambled to a neighbor’s.”
Apple wants to examine the phone
The business was already insured, and the couple did receive a $600,000 payout following the incident, though not all costs were covered. Now the two are asking Apple to pay $600,000 in uninsured losses because they believe it was the company’s phone the one that set their house on fire.
While Apple hasn’t issued a statement on this case, the couple says the company is working with the insurance firm already, but the talks are advanced at very slow pace. Apple wants to examine the phone itself, though an in-depth analysis has already been conducted by a private forensic firm.
The case could take up to five years if Apple isn’t willing to pay, and the Finleys hope the insurer and the Cupertino-based tech giant manage to cooperate in a more effective manner to address their problem.