Epic Games Disputes Apple’s Demand for Legal Fees

Epic Games has reportedly criticized Apple for demanding more than $73 million in legal fees following their antitrust dispute. 

The company told a U.S. judge in a Friday (Feb. 16) court filing that Apple has “completely overreached” with this demand, Reuters reported Monday (Feb. 20).

Epic’s main point of contention is that prevailing defendants are not entitled to such high attorney compensation, according to the report. The company argued that Apple is only entitled to a much narrower amount related to Epic’s breach of Apple’s developer agreement. 

The U.S. Supreme Court declined appeals from both companies in the case in January, the report said. Most of Epic’s lawsuit had been rejected, but Apple was required to make some changes to its App Store.

Both tech giants enlisted top-tier legal representation for the high-profile case, with Epic hiring Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Apple retaining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, per the report.

Apple has defended its position, asserting that it is entitled to all of its fees and costs due to the complexity of the allegations in Epic’s lawsuit, according to the report.

However, Epic maintains that Apple’s $73.4 million fee request is excessive and not justified by the outcome of the lawsuit, the report said.

In the end, the decision will lie with U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who presides over the case, per the report.

Earlier, an appeals court overturned a lower court’s decision that Epic was not obligated to pay Apple’s attorney fees.

This dispute over legal fees stems from Epic’s challenge to Apple’s strict controls over transactions within iOS applications and the distribution of apps to consumers, the Reuters report said.

In another recent development in this legal battle, it was reported in January that Epic Games said that Apple has not yet properly complied with a court order that prompted Apple to say it would open its App Store to permit outside payment options.

Apple said it would let third-party apps sold in the U.S. include a link to a developer website for in-app purchases. The company still asks developers to reimburse it with commissions of up to 27% on purchases made outside its App Store.