Epic Games' Cravath team wins fees in Apple contempt ruling
A federal judge's contempt ruling against Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab has created a major new legal headache for the iPhone maker, and also requires it to write a check to its adversary in the case: "Fortnite" maker Epic Games.
Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Wednesday found Apple willfully violated an injunction she issued in Epic's 2020 lawsuit that was meant to open up the company's App Store to greater competition.
The decision, opens new tab immediately bars Apple from restricting App Store customers' use of third-party payment systems. The judge held Apple in civil contempt and referred the case to federal prosecutors to probe whether Apple was in criminal contempt of court.
Apple said it disputed the ruling and will appeal.
As a sanction, Gonzalez Rogers also said Apple must pay legal fees to Epic's legal team, led by Cravath, Swaine & Moore, for the many months the lawyers spent fighting Apple for information about its compliance with the earlier injunction.
Epic's team at Cravath was led by partners Gary Bornstein, Yonatan Even, Lauren Moskowitz and Michael Zaken.
Bornstein declined to discuss the size of the Epic's legal tab on a call with reporters. The fee sanction could be in the tens of millions of dollars, based on the number of lawyers working for Epic, and the all-out battle that was waged over trying to pry information from Apple.
Some Cravath litigation partners, including Moskowitz, have billed this year at $2,360 an hour, according to a Reuters review of U.S. court filings.
"Epic's obviously not out here for fees," Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney told reporters. "We're fighting for the freedom of ourselves and all developers to do business directly with our customers, freedom from Apple interference and Apple taxation."
Apple is represented by a team from Weil Gotshal led by Mark Perry. Lawyers from Gibson Dunn also represented Apple, which has denied violating the court's injunction.
The court's order faulted Apple's lawyers, without naming them, for not correcting what the judge called "obvious lies" in testimony by an Apple executive.
Two of Apple's chief lawyers in the Epic case did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Gonzalez Rogers' order also addressed a separate bid from Apple to recoup more than $73 million in legal fees from Epic for violating the App Store's developer agreement.
The court's ruling suggested Apple will not recover that much but is due some fees from Epic. Epic's legal team predicted any award would concern only a "small amount."
-- A founder of law firm Kramer Levin's Paris office has sued the firm, opens new tab in New York state court, accusing it of failing to make certain payments in breach of their partnership agreement.
Antoine Paszkiewicz, who had worked at Kramer Levin since 1999, alleged he is owed compensation following the firm's move in late 2024 to end its agreements with Paris partners as part of a plan to merge with law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.
Some of Kramer Levin's Paris team jumped to rival law firm Morgan Lewis. Paszkiewicz said he was excluded from those negotiations because he was over the firm's mandatory retirement age of 65. Kramer Levin, he alleged, then failed to pay him the full compensation he was due under their partnership terms.
Kramer Levin in a statement said it appreciated "the contributions of our former partners in Paris. The orderly winddown of the Paris office has fully complied with our partnership agreement."
A lawyer for Paszkiewicz did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
--Law firms including Constantine Cannon and Shinder Cantor Lerner said they will ask a U.S. judge to award them up to $76 million in fees as part of a $228 million antitrust class action settlement involving California's Sutter Health.
Employers and individuals who sued Sutter in 2012 filed the proposed settlement in the San Francisco, California federal court, seeking a judge's approval. Sutter, represented by Jones Day, denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
US lobbying firms see early revenue boost in Trump's second term
Bitcoin miner accuses K&L Gates of botching bankruptcy claim, overbilling
Former top Trump diplomat settles legal fee fight for $1.1 million
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
24 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Apple's new iPhone 16e falls to record low in Sky sale but it's selling fast
Apple's new iPhone 16e falls to record low in Sky sale but it's selling fast Sky Mobile is offering the iPhone 16e at its 'lowest ever' price and it's in high demand Apple launched the iPhone 16e earlier this year Sky Mobile is offering an enticing deal on Apple devices that is making them surprisingly affordable. The provider has just unveiled a deal that offers the Apple's latest smartphone, the iPhone 16e, at its 'lowest ever' price. This means shoppers can get their hands on this 2025 device for £18 per month with no upfront cost. The deal has been well-received, with Sky confirming that it's in high demand and proving to be 'popular'. It's worth noting this plan only includes 100MB of data, but Sky has plenty of options for those in need of a larger allowance. These data deals range from 3GB for £10 to unlimited for £20, reports the Mirror. READ MORE: Apple's iPad Mini drops under £30 and arrives next day READ MORE: Non-greasy anti-blemish SPF is a 'miracle worker' for skin protection in 25C heatwave Getting these prices means committing to a 36-month contract, so those opting for the device with 3GB of data, will end up paying a total of £1,008 over the full term. However, Sky does allow its customers to upgrade their handset after 24 months. So, how does this compare to purchasing the iPhone 16e directly from Apple and then getting a SIM? The iPhone 16e now starts at £549 from retailers including Amazon and Argos, which could be paired with an 8GB SIM from companies like SMARTY for £7 per month. Sky Mobile's 'lowest ever' price iPhone 16e deal £19 £18 Sky Mobile Get the deal here Product Description Sky Mobile is offering Apple's new iPhone 16e for its 'lowest ever' price of £18 per month when paired with a Sky data SIM When combining these costs, the total price over three years comes to £801. This is cheaper than Sky's deal, but it means forking out £549 upfront to purchase the device. Whichever option seems best, the iPhone 16e is a highly-rated smartphone with a host of upgrades. Those making the switch to Apple's flagship gadget will enjoy a Super Retina XDR display, a powerful A18 processor, a decent dual-lens camera and extended battery life. It's also robustly built and available in a choice of black or white. Additionally, the case features a Camera Control button, allowing you to take photos without touching the screen. The iPhone 16 is also one of the few devices compatible with Apple Intelligence, enabling it to write emails, organise inboxes and edit photos automatically. Apple iPhone 16e (Image: APPLE ) Amazon customers have awarded the phone a 4.4-star rating, with 89% of buyers leaving 4 or five star reviews. One happy customer said: "I'm no expert but this is great value for money. "Slim and handles nice. Transfer of data, photos, apps etc. from my other phone was easy. Live videos are flicker, stutter and buffering free. 6.8" screen good size for YouTube, live news feeds etc. Excellent quality photos. Performs like a high-end phone." Article continues below This more mixed review said: "There is no plug included and it was difficult to charge initially. Once it is up and running it is a great phone. Very comfortable and durable. I would recommend." While another satisfied shopper said: "What a great phone. This works well on every app and is very fast. I even have TikTok live dual camera on as well. The battery is great, so happy with this phone."
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
U.S. weekly new jobless claims drop to 6-week low
July 3 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell to a six-week low last week, but the ranks of those continuing to collect benefits after their initial week held steady at the highest in nearly four years in the prior week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 - the lowest since mid-May - for the week ended June 28, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 240,000 claims for the latest week. The total ranks of those on jobless benefits rolls was unchanged in the week ended June 21 at 1.964 million, which is the highest level since the fall of 2021.
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Video game spending has dropped almost 25% amongst young people
Young adults are spending less and less across the board, but the games industry has been hit the hardest. Gaming has never been the cheapest of hobbies, but it has undeniably become more expensive in recent years, to the point that many have had to cut back their spending. Not only has the price of consoles gone up, with the Nintendo Switch 2's £395.99 price tag considered affordable by comparison, but so have the games. The ninth generation began with Sony insisting it had to start charging £70 for games and now we have Nintendo asking up to £75 for Mario Kart World. Regardless of where you stand on whether such price increases accurately reflect the value of the games, there's no doubt that they're a key factor in why spending on gaming as a whole is seeing a decline, especially amongst young adults. Matt Piscatella, executive director and industry analyst at Circana, has shared a chart on Bluesky collating data on the average weekly spending among adults aged 18 to 24 in the US, within the four weeks ending in April 2025. Aside from gaming, the data covers spending on things like houseware, accessories, and clothing. Compared to the same period of time in 2024, there have been sharp declines in spending among young adults in all areas, with gaming seeing the largest impact – a drop of nearly 25%. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. For what it's worth, video game spending among all other age groups hasn't declined as much, but it's still dropped by about 1 or 2%. This isn't universal among other industries though, with spending on sports equipment and beauty products up this year. Video game spend among 18 to 24's is down sharply."Young grads are having a much tougher time finding jobs. Student-loan payments are restarting for millions of borrowers… credit-card delinquency rates have risen to their highest points since before the pandemic…" — Mat Piscatella (@ 2025-07-01T14:25:35.367Z While this data is specifically for the US, spending habits between it and the UK aren't dissimilar, so it's safe to assume that more or less the same applies here. Even if it didn't, the US is a massive and important market for the games industry, so this should still be cause for concern amongst games companies. This all lines up with past data. Last year, chip company AMD (which both Sony and Microsoft are partnering with on their next consoles) admitted that demand for gaming had become 'quite weak.' Earlier this year, another Circana report revealed that more than 70% of active PlayStation 5 and Xbox players in the US were dedicating a significant amount of time to playing at least one of the 10 most popular live service games, such as Fortnite, Call Of Duty, and Roblox, rather than any new releases. More Trending A big part of this is because they're free-to-play, so there's less of a barrier to entry. As such, anyone who enjoys games but can't justify spending upwards of £80 on new releases is more likely to shift their attention to free-to-play fare. This in turn stands to further incentivise studios into making live service games, which earn their money through microtransactions; a strategy Sony has obsessively chased for years, with very little success beyond Helldivers 2 (which wasn't even made in-house). But even that isn't guaranteed to address the industry's woes, as evidenced by how many live service games have crashed and burned over the years. This is best exemplified by a March report that showed the vast majority of PC players are not only primarily playing live service games, but ones that were at least two years old. With the likes of Counter-Strike and League Of Legends still holding a fierce chokehold on the market, what chance do any new live service games have? Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Over 6,000 people have lost their jobs at Xbox in less than two years MORE: EA thinks Battlefield 6 will be as big as Fortnite as it sets 100,000,000 player target MORE: Soon you'll be able to pay for DLC and microtransactions in instalments
