The Supreme Court has granted Apple a 24-hour extension to a California court deadline requiring the company to propose what commission, if any, it should be allowed to charge on purchases made outside the App Store. Here are the details.
Apple scores 24-hour extension
Yesterday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Apple’s request to pause the App Store fee proceedings while the Supreme Court reviews the company’s contempt ruling.
For context, when Judge Gonzalez Rogers issued an injunction requiring Apple to allow developers to direct users to alternative payment methods outside the App Store, Apple responded by allowing external links, but imposed a 27% commission on purchases made through them.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers later found Apple in contempt for violating the injunction. The Supreme Court eventually agreed to review that ruling, with Apple arguing that the original injunction did not expressly prohibit it from charging a commission.
Even though the Supreme Court is reviewing the contempt finding, the case is also continuing in the lower court, where Judge Gonzalez Rogers will determine what commission, if any, Apple can charge on purchases made outside the App Store.
Apple had asked Judge Gonzalez Rogers to pause these proceedings while the Supreme Court reviews the contempt case, but yesterday she rejected Apple’s request, giving the company until 5:00 p.m. today to hand over its proposed fee and the evidence supporting it.
Apple, however, filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court (via Bloomberg), which Justice Elena Kagan granted on a temporary basis, pausing the lower-court proceedings until 5:00 p.m. Thursday while the Court considers Apple’s request for a longer stay.
From Bloomberg:
The administrative stay issued by Kagan is designed to give the high court more time to consider Apple’s request for a longer-term stop to additional lower court action in the case. Absent the Supreme Court’s order, Apple would have needed to make a filing with the US District Court for the Northern District of California by Wednesday afternoon. Kagan paused proceedings until 5:00 p.m. Washington time Thursday.
This means that there is a chance the Supreme Court might grant Apple a longer stay, putting the lower-court fee proceedings on hold while it reviews the contempt ruling.
To read Bloomberg’s full report, follow this link.
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