A $53 million settlement may vindicate some iPhone owners who say Apple failed to honor its product warranties for certain repairs to its popular smart phones.

A document that appears to be a settlement signed by Apple chief litigation counsel Noreen Krall on April 10 was first reported by Wired Magazine.

The settlement is related to an indicator in Apple iPhones that show if a product has been damaged by water.

According to the document, “liquid contact indicator” is the name Apple used from Dec. 22, 2009 to describe a water contact indicator tape it purchased from the 3M Company and installed in iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

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