Apple filed a position paper with the Supreme Court in preparation for a motion to overturn a contempt order issued by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. If successful, this would allow the company to return the App Store rules to those in effect until 2025, writes macro rumors.
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Apple largely prevailed in its original lawsuit against Epic Games in 2020, as the court found no violations of antitrust laws. At the same time, the judge ordered the company to relax its rules prohibiting redirecting users to third-party resources and allow developers to post links to alternative payment methods in their apps.
Apple allowed recommendations under the court ruling but charged a fee of 12% to 27%, meaning few developers took advantage of the system. In response, Epic accused Apple of violating the ban. The judge agreed with her argument and found Apple guilty of contempt, barring the company from collecting any commissions on purchases made through links to the U.S. App Store.
Apple complied with the court’s decision and changed its App Store rules, but appealed. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the contempt finding, and Apple later appealed to the Supreme Court.
In the filing, Apple asked the Supreme Court to determine whether it can hold a party in contempt (in a civil lawsuit) for violating the “spirit” of the injunction if the injunction itself does not govern the conduct that gave rise to the contempt charge.
The fact is that the Gonzalez-Rogers injunction did not address what fees Apple could or could not charge, but both the trial court and the appeals court found that Apple’s charging excessive fees violated the “spirit” of the injunction.
Apple argued that it could not be held in contempt of court because there was no clear and unambiguous violation of the wording of the court order. The company also noted that the text of the court’s original order was very short, only 75 words.
The case is expected to be heard in the Supreme Court in 2027. In November, Epic Games will file an objection, after which Apple will be able to file a response.
Now, Apple will ask the district court to calculate the amount of fees that would apply if the Supreme Court upholds the decision. The case was remanded to the district court because the appeals court found a blanket ban on fees was excessive and ordered a determination of reasonable fees. Apple tried unsuccessfully to delay the trial.
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