Hagens Berman: Apple Hit with Class-Action Lawsuit for App Store Injunction Violation by Same Law Firm That Secured $100M iOS Developer Win

Attorneys seeking to represent iOS devs in round two, after court finds Apple’s actions in contempt

Apple Inc. is in the crosshairs of a new class-action lawsuit regarding its App Store policies and practices, according to Hagens Berman, the same law firm that secured a $100 million settlement on behalf of iOS developers harmed by its fees and commissions.

The new lawsuit was filed May 2, 2025, following news that a federal judge found the tech giant in contempt of court for violating a 2021 antitrust injunction which required Apple to permit its app developers to sell subscriptions and other in-app products directly to their customers using links within their apps. Without the injunction in place Apple charges app developers uniform transaction fees (defaulting at 30%, and 15% under some programs). The court found that Apple implemented a scheme to violate the injunction and prevent developers from directing customers to their own websites and payment platforms.

“It appears as though Apple has been caught red-handed blatantly seeking to undercut the law,” said Steve Berman, Hagens Berman managing partner and co-founder. “We believe app developers deserve a fair market to promote and sell their products, and the world’s largest corporation doesn’t get to bully them out of this billion-dollar revenue stream.”

If you sold an in-app digital product (including subscriptions) through Apple's App Store after Jan. 16, 2024, find out your rights as an iOS app developer.

Apple’s Injunction Violations

The class-action lawsuit against Apple states that Apple has been found to have conducted internal analyses that showed its intention to circumvent the injunction to unlawfully preserve its “ill-gotten gains” and engaged in a series of scare tactics that served to keep developers from earning their fair share of revenue from subscription apps and in-app purchases.

Under the injunction, iOS developers were to save billions of dollars in revenues by processing their own payments, funds they could reinvest in their apps and operations. But “[t]o neutralize the effect of the injunction and illicitly retain this revenue stream, Apple engaged in a series of contrivances for which it has now been held in contempt,” the lawsuit explains.

The court ultimately held that Apple willfully violated the injunction to protect its revenues, and then “reverse engineered justification[s] to proffer to the Court” often with “lies on the witness stand,” according to the class action. The evidence showed that while one senior Apple executive “advocated that Apple comply with the Injunction,” Mr. Cook ignored this advice and allowed others in “his finance team to convince him otherwise. Cook chose poorly,” the complaint details.

“Apple’s scheme worked as planned,” the lawsuit states. “Although the injunction has been in ‘effect’ for over 15 months, Apple has been able to identify only 34 developers who have even applied to offer linked-out payments through their apps. This represents an infinitesimal 0.025% of the 136,000 developers who offer apps through the App Store.”

“Apple’s lip service concealed its real intentions from the start: to use every trick in the book to subvert the court’s order, in flagrant violation of the law,” Berman said. “This was not a victimless crime.”

Apple’s Harm to iOS Developers

The lawsuit’s named plaintiff is Pure Sweat Basketball Inc., a corporation offering an app used by players across the country to train and improve their basketball skills. Had Apple complied with the injunction, as required, Pure Sweat would have been able to sell subscriptions to its app directly to its customers, using “link-out” buttons directing customers to Pure Sweat’s own website.

As a result of Apple’s misconduct, attorneys estimate that potentially more than 100,000 similarly situated app developers were prevented from selling in-app products (including subscriptions) directly to their customers, and were forced to pay Apple commissions on in-app sales that Apple was not entitled to receive.

Find out more about the class-action lawsuit against Apple on behalf of iOS app developers.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm’s determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250505305754/en/

“We believe app developers deserve a fair market to promote and sell their products, and the world’s largest corporation doesn’t get to bully them out of this billion-dollar revenue stream.”