(Dec 2): Apple Inc’s App Store risks more class action-type damages claims in the European Union (EU) after the bloc’s top court said users of its Dutch App Store can collectively sue in the Netherlands regardless of where they are based.
Judges at the EU Court of Justice said an Amsterdam court could hear original claims from the foundations Stichting Right to Consumer Justice and Stichting App Stores due to allegedly anticompetitive App Store commissions — which can reach as high as 30% per sale.
“The Netherlands courts have jurisdiction to hear a representative action concerning the alleged anticompetitive conduct of Apple in relation to its App Store aimed at the Netherlands market,” the EU court said in a statement on the preliminary ruling in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
Cupertino, California-based Apple argued against the jurisdiction of the Dutch court to hear this case, as the alleged harmful conduct had not occurred in the Netherlands and in particular in Amsterdam.
Apple declined to comment on the ruling.
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