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Paul, Weiss, along with co-counsel Gibson Dunn, was recognized by the Daily Journal for winning one of the three top antitrust defense verdicts of 2021 in the Epic Games v. Apple trial. The Journal noted that Apple won on nine out of ten counts in the “contentious and closely watched legal battle” with Epic Games, the maker of the popular “Fortnite” video game. The publication noted that the case also represented the first application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2018 decision on two-sided transaction platform economics, Ohio v. American Express Co., in a trial.
Paul, Weiss was retained shortly before trial and partners Karen Dunn and Meredith Dearborn played a key role during the three-week proceeding in May 2021 in the Northern District of California. The trial, which was among the most significant and closely watched civil trials of the past year, took direct aim at Apple’s App Store business model, claiming that it was evidence that Apple is a monopoly. Apple’s strategy was to focus on the business case for its App Store model, highlighting how it was integral to Apple’s much-vaunted data privacy protections.
Apple’s business model “worked very well for consumers, giving them access to not just gaming apps but all types of apps, in a way that they can trust and find reliable,” Karen told the Daily Journal.
In September 2021, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers upheld the App Store’s structure as legal. “Success is not illegal,” she wrote.
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