Apple-Fortnite judge backed iPhone maker in a similar 2013 case

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in 2013 dismissed a lawsuit claiming Apple’s apps monopoly cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges. — AFP

Apple Inc’s showdown with Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc over app store fees has landed with a judge who gave the iPhone maker a big victory seven years ago in a case raising similar antitrust issues.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, took over the Epic case Aug 19 from another judge. Back in 2013, she dismissed a lawsuit claiming Apple’s apps monopoly cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges. Plaintiffs requested a new judge after the US Supreme Court revived the case in 2019, saying Rogers was too hostile to their legal position, but an appeals court denied their request.