Fri Dec 19 2025, 07:08 AM EST · 1 minute read

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An App Store antitrust case that has been running for more than a decade, may be revived as a US appeals court says it will reconsider a previous ruling that saw the class action dismissed.

This latest move is specifically to reexamine an October 2025 decision by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to dismiss a class action suit. The suit was originally filed in 2011, accusing Apple of overcharging App Store users.

In just one example of how this particular case has had a tortuous route through the legal system, in 2024, Judge Rogers allowed it to be a class action — after ruling in 2022 that it could not be.

The issue has regarded the number of potential claimants in such a class action case. Apple always wants it reduced, the claimants have wanted it increased, and Judge Rogers has ruled on the practicality of the number.

According to Reuters, this is what the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now focused on. It will not reexamine the case per se, it will solely look at Judge Rogers’s decision to decertify the class action.

Or rather, it has said that it will do so should the plaintiffs make a formal request within 14 days to continue the appeal. Lawyer Mark Rifkin says that the plaintiffs will do this and that they "look forward to briefing and arguing the merits of the appeal."

It was the plaintiffs who asked for the Ninth Circuit to consider the case. Apple reportedly argued against it, saying that the named plaintiffs were still able to pursue individual claims.

Apple has not yet commented on the new decision.

Beyond the 14-day window for the plaintiffs to file their appeal, it is not known how long the next steps should take. If Apple does ultimately lose the case, however, it is likely to be liable for billions of dollars in compensation.