Storage Wars: Apple Beats Contract Claim Regarding iCloud Storage

Your subjective beliefs don't override clear contract language.

This is one of the takeaways from a case that somewhat flew under the radar this week was the Ninth Circuit's decision in Bodenburg v. Apple, Inc.

Bodenburg claimed that Apple breached their Terms of Use when they upgraded her from the free 5GB of iCloud storage to the 200GB of storage. Bodenburg claims it should have been an "additional 200GB" not 200GB total.

The Ninth Circuit correctly dismissed her claims because she "cannot state a claim for breach of contract because she cannot allege a cognizable contractual breach." The Terms stated she would get 200GB of storage. She got 200GB. Just because she believed it should have 205GB doesn't mean there's a claim there.

Bodenburg's claims also didn't stand up to the "reasonable consumer" test as required by the California consumer protection statutes. Apple's description of the upgraded plans in the Terms clarify that "it is simply not plausible that 'a significant portion of the general consuming public or of targeted consumers, acting reasonably in the circumstances, could be misled'".

“Here, because Apple’s statements are neither ambiguous nor misleading when considered in context, a reasonable consumer reviewing these statements would not plausibly share Bodenburg’s expectation of additional storage.”

The key takeaway here is that your website's Terms of Use must be clear and unambiguous. Your Terms have to be written in such a way that a reasonable consumer with knowledge of the context must understand exactly what’s going to happen.

Therefore, it is essential, that you (A) Tell the consumer what you are going to do, and (B) Do it.

I think I have heard that somewhere before.