Judge questions $27 million lawyer fee in App Store settlement

by admin

Even the lawyers are taking 30% from developers.

What you need to know

  • Apple has agreed to pay developers $100M to settle an antitrust lawsuit.
  • Apple was sued by developers in a 2019 class-action lawsuit claiming Apple had an abusive monopoly over iOS App Distribution including a very high 30% commission rate.
  • A judge has said she wants to see more numbers behind a $27 million attorney fee included in the settlement.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers says she wants to see more math behind the calculation of a $27 million developer fee included in the $100 million App Store lawsuit settlement fee agreed by Apple and developers.

As Law360 reports, Judge Gonzalez Rogers has already approved at $100 million settlement fee proposed by Apple to settle the lawsuit but wants to see more information about the numbers behind a $27 million attorney fee request, including how much that figure will reduce developers' payouts by.

The deadline for developers to apply for a payout has now passed, with eligible class members (estimated to be 67,000) expected to receive the following:

  • 51% will get a minimum payment of $250
  • 23% will get a minimum payment of $500
  • 11% will get a minimum payment of $1,000
  • 4% will get a minimum payment of $1,500
  • 6% will get a minimum payment of $2,000
  • 2% will get a minimum payment of $3,500
  • 2% will get a minimum payment of $ 5,000
  • 1% will get a minimum payment of $10,000
  • 1% will get a minimum payment of $20,000
  • 1% will get a minimum payment of $30,000

The Epic Games-backed Coalition for App Fairness has branded the settlement as a "sham", stating the settlement "does nothing to address the structural, foundational problems facing all developers, large and small, undermining innovation and competition in the app ecosystem." Only a few small actual policy changes were made as part of the settlement, which clarifies that developers can share purchase options with users outside of their iOS app, along with an expansion to price points, and a new fund to assist US developers.

Back to Feed