Apple Faces Class Action Threat After Defeat at Top EU Court

(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. risks more class action-type damages claims in the the European Union 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 weigh claims from two foundations over allegedly anticompetitive App Store commissions — which can reach as high as 30% per sale.

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While the ruling homed in on the Netherlands after the Dutch court sought EU judges’ guidance on how to apply EU rules on jurisdiction, the decision is likely to encourage other group action cases targeting other versions of the App Store across the 27-nation bloc.

“In order to determine the place where the damage occurred, the virtual space constituted by the App Store NL, in which the purchases were made, is the entire territory of that state,” the court said. “The damage suffered when those purchases are made can therefore occur in that territory, irrespective of the place where the users concerned were situated at the time of the purchase.”

Cupertino, California-based Apple had 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.

The company said that it disagreed with the EU court decision, which it described as purely jurisdictional.

(Updates with background and company response starting in third paragraph)

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