Judge decertifies class action accusing Apple of monopolizing the iPhone app market

A federal judge has decertified a class action by tens of millions customers who accused Apple of monopolizing the market for iPhone apps by banning purchases outside its App Store, leading to higher prices.

According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, reversed her February 2024 decision allowing Apple account holders who spent $10 or more on app or in-app content to sue as a group. She said the plaintiffs failed to provide a model “capable of reliably showing classwide injury and damages in one stroke” by matching Apple accounts to consumers, while limiting the number of “unharmed” consumers in the class.

According to Reuters, the judge ruled after an expert hired by Apple found “alarming” errors in the plaintiffs’ model. These included that named plaintiff Robert Pepper and supposed claimant “Rob Pepper” were different people despite sharing home addresses and credit card information.

They also included the lumping together of more than 40,000 payment records for people whose first name was “Kim,” but who otherwise had nothing in common, Gonzales ruled.