Just to answer your earlier question about where they find a refurbished phone so quickly after they go to market, itll either be one that was sold DOA so returned and repaired, or more likely, someone who bought it then returned it because they plain didn't want it - Products thatve been opened then returned, despite working perfectly, almost always end up being re-sold as "refurbished", as theyre no longer new.

No idea about the USA but in the UK or anywhere else in europe no restrictions within a warranty small-print can negate the fact that your product is covered for a minimum of a year, and both UK and EU law also have requirements that a device is "fit for purpose", and a £500 device intended to make phone calls who'se GSM antenna dies after a few months wouldnt in any circumstance be considered fit for purpose, so would be acknowledged as needing fixing by any court.
Not that it would need to get that far if the guy's friend hadnt thrown a hissy fit, speaking sensibly to a call-centre monkey who isnt an idiot would have gotten the device repaired.