Smith Anderson Represents Antitrust and Civil Procedure Professors in Landmark Remedies Ruling in Ninth Circuit

Epic Games Inc. recently secured a significant appellate victory when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit largely upheld a district court injunction requiring Apple Inc. to reform key App Store policies. The decision, which drew national coverage in Law360, affirms findings that Apple acted in bad faith and violated both the letter and spirit of a prior court order governing its conduct toward app developers. Smith Anderson filed an amicus brief on behalf of several law professors in support of Epic Games.

The Ninth Circuit agreed that Apple’s revised 27% commission on purchases made through external links, along with related design restrictions, had a prohibitive effect that effectively deterred developers from offering alternative payment options. The court affirmed the district court’s contempt finding and rejected Apple’s compliance arguments, concluding that courts may look to the purpose of an injunction where a party adopts a "dubiously literal interpretation" designed to evade its goals.

Smith Anderson’s amicus curiae brief on behalf of law professors and in support of Epic Games addressed the scope of injunctive relief and the standards governing contempt in antitrust cases. In its opinion, the Ninth Circuit adopted key reasoning advanced in the firm’s brief, including that parties may not experiment with technical compliance to preserve anticompetitive conduct and that courts may enforce the spirit of an injunction even where conduct is not expressly enumerated.

The Smith Anderson team leading the amicus effort included Hunter Bruton, Ed Roche, and Noel Hudson, supported by attorneys across the firm’s Issues & Appeals practice and Technology + Artificial Intelligence group. The case is Epic Games Inc. v. Apple Inc., No. 25-2935 (9th Cir.).

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