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Apple has begun filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit with the Department of Justice App Store and other antitrust actions should be dismissed.
Apple's motion to dismiss the Department of Justice (DOJ) allegations antitrust behavior, is required to begin with a preliminary letter of up to three pages outlining the arguments for dismissal. Apple filed that letter with the U.S. District Court today Judge Julien Nealsand claims that this “case goes far beyond the bounds of antitrust law.”
According to Apple, the DOJ has brought an antitrust case as a Section 2 Sherman Act claim, and that it can only “move past the pleadings” if three specific allegations are shown to be valid. According to Apple, the DOJ must demonstrate that the company:
- Monopoly power in a relevant market
- Has exhibited anti-competitive behavior
- It has had anti-competitive effects
“This complaint fails on all three counts,” Apple's letter continues. “The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the type of conduct at the heart of this case – namely Apple's decisions about how and whether third parties should access its platform – does not give rise to Article 2 liability as a matter of law. “
Apple then says that the DOJ accused it of restrictions that it subsequently failed to demonstrate had anti-competitive effects. Apple “faces intense competition from established rivals” and does not have “the market share necessary to establish or infer market power.”
Therefore, Apple is asking the court to dismiss the case. But it also goes further by accusing the Justice Department of trying to change antitrust law. “This Court,” it says, “must decline the invitation to devise a new theory of antitrust liability that no court has recognized.”
Apple's filing of this pre-motion letter initiates a process to which the DOJ will respond by the end of the month. Judge Neals can then arrange a meeting with the two parties.
Any subsequent steps will depend on Judge Neals, but assuming Apple is then allowed to file its full motion to dismiss, this likely won't be until mid-June. The DOJ may then file another opposition letter, and Apple may then respond.
If the case gets that far without the judge refusing to dismiss, a hearing will likely take place, but no date will be set for the time being. However, given the magnitude of the case, it is likely that the application for dismissal will not be heard in court until September at the earliest.
If Apple's motion to dismiss is not granted, the DOJ's case will continue and a full hearing will be held. The dates for this are again up to the court.
Because appeals are expected from both sides regardless of the outcome, it is unlikely the case will be resolved within several years.