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U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers had in March 2022
refused to certify a class action, but changed her mind after
the class was narrowed to include only Apple account holders who
spent $10 or more on app or in-app content.
While remaining "concerned" that the narrowed class might
include more than 10 million accounts that suffered no harm, or
7.9% of the total, Rogers said that number could be reduced and
there was no fixed "cutoff" for denying certification.
The Oakland, California-based judge also rejected Apple's bid to
exclude testimony it considered unreliable from two expert
witnesses, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel
McFadden, about how it may have harmed consumers.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, did not immediately
respond to requests for comment.
Mark Rifkin, a lawyer for the consumers, said he was "extremely
pleased" and looked forward to the next phase of the 12-year-old
antitrust case. He estimated that the class incurred "billions
of dollars in damages."
Class actions can result in greater recoveries at less cost than
if plaintiffs are forced to sue individually.
Rogers has also overseen "Fortnite" videogame creator Epic
Games' antitrust case against Apple.
In Sept. 2021 she ordered Apple to loosen restrictions on where
developers can seek payment from customers for their apps, but
stopped short of requiring Apple to allow downloads to iPhones
outside its App Store.
A federal appeals court upheld much of that ruling in April
2023, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to get involved last
month.
The case is In re Apple iPhone Antitrust Litigation, U.S.
District Court, Northern District of California, No. 11-06714.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Sandra
Maler)
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