A US federal judge on Monday decertified a class action lawsuit that accused Apple of monopolizing the iPhone app market and inflating prices by restricting purchases outside its App Store, as reported by Reuters.
The ruling came from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California — the same judge who had certified the class earlier in February 2024. That decision had allowed tens of millions of Apple account holders who spent at least $10 on apps or in-app purchases over the past 17 years to pursue the case collectively.
However, Judge Rogers reversed that certification on Monday, saying the plaintiffs failed to present a reliable, classwide model for injury and damages. She noted that the proposed model struggled to accurately match Apple accounts to real consumers while excluding those who weren’t harmed by Apple’s alleged practices.
Apple’s legal team reportedly highlighted numerous flaws in the plaintiffs’ analysis. One notable error involved the distinction between a named plaintiff, Robert Pepper, and another supposed claimant, “Rob Pepper,” who were identified as different individuals despite sharing a home address and credit card information. Another issue included the grouping of over 40,000 users named “Kim” into the same dataset, even though they had no apparent connection.
The lawsuit, first filed in December 2011, accused Apple of charging excessive commissions to app developers — fees the plaintiffs argued were ultimately passed on to consumers through higher app and in-app purchase prices. Lawyers had previously estimated that potential damages could reach billions of dollars had the case proceeded as a certified class action.
The class had covered users of iOS devices dating back to July 10, 2008, around the time the App Store first launched.
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