Apple Faces Antitrust Challenges Over App Store Practices

Following U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' reversal of her own certification of a class action suit accusing Apple of monopolizing the iPhone app market, the case is back in play. Initially, in 2022, Judge Rogers declined to certify the class action.

Two years later, she reversed that decision, certifying it under a narrower scope for Apple account holders who spent ten dollars or more on apps or in-app content. However, in October, Judge Rogers decertified the class action again, stating that the plaintiffs failed to present a reliable damages model.

The plaintiffs subsequently filed a petition to appeal, which has been granted by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal will specifically review Judge Rogers' decision to decertify the class action, proceeding under Rule 23(f).

The plaintiffs now have fourteen days to formally move the appeal forward, and their lawyer, Mark Rifkin, expressed eagerness to argue the merits in the Ninth Circuit. Apple has not commented on the matter.