'Parasitic' Apple, Google class action lawsuits could settle as Epic trial looms
App developers and consumers suing Apple and Google over allegations of anticompetitive conduct haven't ruled out a settlement eight weeks out from a trial.
If everything had gone to plan, Epic Games should have seen its competition lawsuits against Apple and Google in Australia head to trial in late 2022.
But a decision by class action claimants to bring what Federal Court of Australia Judge Jonathan Beach has described as "parasitic" cases on the back of the Fortnite-maker's action threw out that timetable.
We're now just over eight weeks out from a sixteen week trial that is sure to dominate the minds of competition and consumer lawyers as well as the developer community. But now, the class action claimants say "it's not out of the realm of possibility" that they could settle their dispute.
Epic sued both Google and Apple in multiple jurisdictions in 2020 over their app stores. While the cases have varied slightly, they have all focused on anticompetitive conduct by Google and Apple, alleging in Australia that the companies have lessened competition in app stores and placed excessive charges on developers.
