A court ruling in the Netherlands has thrown the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) device replacement program into disarray arousing fears that the same could affect how the company handles broken devices in the future. According to the ruling, the tech giant cannot replace broken devices with refurbished devices but instead issue entirely new devices.

Court Ruling Impact

The ruling stems from a case where a woman had sued the tech giant for replacing her broken iPad 2 Air with a refurbished one instead of issuing a new one. After purchasing the tablet in 2015, the woman claims it developed Wi-Fi issues. A judge in the Subdistrict Court of Amsterdam has now ordered Apple to furnish with a new tablet.

Apple will also be forced to pay the woman in question €100 every day she goes without a new replacement iPad.

“If a plaintiff had purchased a refurbished or replacement iPad, Apple may replace it with a refurbished or replacement copy. However, if the consumer, as in this case, purchased a new iPad, she is entitled to a new iPad as a replacement,” said the Judge in his ruling.

Bad Precedent

The Judge in his ruling reiterated that the purchase state of a device should always be a point of consideration when replacing a device. However, the same remains a point of discussion given that the device terms of service states that a refurbished device will always be used to replace a broken device.

This is not the first time that Apple’s terms of service have come under scrutiny. Last year, the company was ordered to pay back a Dutch woman €799 for a broken iPhone 6 instead of having to replace her broken one. Apple’s biggest concern now is that the ruling could set a bad precedent going forward as people could start pushing for new devices even when a refurbished device can be used to replace a broken one at a relatively low cost.

Issuing new devices for broken devices is the last thing that Apple needs at the moment as its products are expensive to produce.