Apple seeks $73.4 million from Epic Games in legal expenses

Apple is seeking a substantial reimbursement of $73.4 million in legal fees from Epic Games. Despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision not to hear separate requests from both parties, effectively concluding the case that began in August 2020, Apple is now pursuing compensation for its litigation expenses, according to gamesfray‘s Florian Mueller.

The tech giant has justified the amount by totaling up the $82,971,401 spent on legal costs during the case, adjusting it down to $81,560,362, and deducting 10% due to Epic prevailing on one count concerning Apple’s “anti-steering” rule.

#Apple wants #EpicGames to reimburse $73 MILLION AND COUNTING (the dispute isn't over yet) in litigation expenses. Apple says it's spent $82,971,401 defending against that case, adjusts it to $81,560,362, then deducts 10% as Epic prevailed on 1 of 10 counts ➡️ $73,404,326.

🧵1/4 pic.twitter.com/0Qwa3yA6es

— gamesfray (@games_fray) January 17, 2024

The claim is rooted in Epic’s initial violation of the developer agreement when Fortnite introduced an alternative in-app payment option on the App Store. A court hearing for Apple’s reimbursement claim is scheduled for March 5, 2024, inclusive of ongoing litigation costs under the Developer Program License Agreement’s indemnification provision.

Epic Games had previously acknowledged that it would be liable for damages in the event of losing its antitrust claims against Apple.