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US: Apple closer to securing dismissal of AT&T exclusive dealing suit

By  |  January 21, 2015

Plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit against Apple may have the case dismissed yet again for not including AT&T in the suit. The suit stems from a five-year exclusivity agreement between Apple and AT&T signed shortly before the iPhone was introduced in 2007. Apple enforced the agreement by putting SIM card locks on the iPhones without informing customers. Customers who purchased an iPhone were bound to a five year user agreement with AT&T, without their knowledge.

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    The lawsuit was dismissed in 2012 by US District Judge James Ware for not including AT&T as a defendant. Customers sign an arbitration clause in their contract with AT&T, otherwise plaintiff lawyer Mark Rifkin admitted that the lawsuit would have included AT&T.

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    The plaintiffs filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court, but Tuesday Judge Milan Smith noted that “The lock in agreement seemingly primarily benefited AT&T.” Apple attorneys have responded by stating that Apple is not the monopolist and is not charging the fees.

    Experts say other possible buyers include foreign-held Alibaba or even Amazon.com if the company wanted to quickly expand its new hotel platform within the US.

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