The Apple logo is displayed at the Apple Store in New York City on June 17, 2015. Eric Thayer/Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court late on Aug. 12 temporarily paused further action in federal district court in California in Apple’s long-running App Store dispute with Epic Games.
Justice Elena Kagan granted a brief administrative stay that is set to expire at 5 p.m. on Aug. 13. An administrative stay puts a lower court ruling or proceeding on hold while a higher court takes time to consider an emergency application.
The stay, which was sought by Apple, gives the justices time to consider whether to halt further action by the district court while they review a civil contempt finding against the company.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of Oakland, California, previously found Apple in contempt in the “Fortnite” video game maker’s lawsuit challenging App Store fees.
After the Supreme Court on June 30 agreed to review that contempt finding, the judge declined to put the case on hold. That refusal forced Apple to begin justifying any commission it wants to charge on certain outside purchases, which prompted the company to file the emergency application seeking relief from the justices earlier on Aug. 12.
In its June 30 order, the Supreme Court agreed to take up Apple’s bid to avoid being found in contempt in the lawsuit now pending in the lower court. When it hears the case in its new term that begins in October, the nation’s highest court is expected to focus on the contempt issue and not revisit the merits of the lawsuit itself.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
