Judge rejects Apple's plea for deadline extension in Epic lawsuit
What's the story
In the ongoing legal battle between Epic Games and Apple, a US judge has dismissed Apple's request for more time to produce approximately 1.3 million documents, related to App Store modifications implemented in January.
Apple had sought an extension due to the unexpectedly large volume of documents unearthed by the court-ordered search parameters.
However, Magistrate Judge Thomas S Hixson upheld the original deadline of September 30, 2024, set by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers back in May.
Criticism
Judge Hixson criticizes Apple's conduct in court
Judge Hixson wasn't too pleased with Apple's actions, saying the company should've let both Epic Games and the court know weeks ago about the uptick in documents.
He found it hard to believe that Apple only figured this out two weeks after the last status report.
He said, "Before yesterday's report, Apple never previewed to Epic Games or to the Court that the number of documents it would need to review exceeded its prior estimate by a substantial amount."
Disapproval
Apple called out for 'bad behavior'
Judge Hixson called out Apple's last-minute request for an extension as "bad behavior."
He raised concerns about the quality of Apple's status reports and stressed that it was the company's job to meet the deadline.
The judge said, "This gives rise to several related concerns... it's up to Apple to figure out how to meet that deadline, but Monday is indeed the deadline."
Dispute details
The ongoing dispute between Apple and Epic Games
The legal drama between Apple and Epic Games kicked off when Epic decided to break App Store rules by offering a direct payment link. This move got them banned from Apple's platform.
Even after Apple made changes to tackle antitrust issues raised by the European Union, Epic is still pushing ahead with its case.
They're claiming that Apple hasn't fully followed Judge Rogers's ruling in the US and in other countries.
Delay questioned
Judge Hixson questions Apple's delay in document production
Judge Hixson reckoned that Apple could've checked all the documents over a weekend and questioned why they were delaying the process.
He hinted that complying with the request might hurt Apple's case.
The judge said, "He inferred that Apple's feet-dragging over producing the volume of documents requested is because fulfilling the request is 'all downside for Apple.'"