Cupertino, California based Apple Inc. is facing a $2.3B litigation battle in the United Kingdom, as nearly 20 million iPhone and iPad users claim Apple abused application payment ethics rules. Dr. Rachel Kent of King’s College London is the proposed class representative custodian.
Law Gazette reports that Dr. Kent has submitted a proposal of litigation trajectory and corresponding budget to finance the claim to trial. Attorney’s for Apple petitioned the court for details of Dr. Kent’s litigation budget, pressing for detail on ‘after the market’ (ATE) insurance premiums. Dr. Kent is said to have $20M+ in liability protection covering litigation against Apple.
Apple challenged that Dr. Kent’s litigation budget and ATE premiums are not subject to confidentiality. However, the U.K. tribunal hearing the case rejected Apple’s logic. Presiding justices cautioned that ATE premium details could motivate Apple to tactically forecast the insurers’ anticipated claim risk.
While refusing to disclose details of Mr. Kent’s litigation budget and ATE premium agreements, the court did not grant privilege to details of the insurance premium agreements. As such, Apple may engage alternative market research avenues to obtain the information. The court expressed concern that Apple may seek to increase pressure on Dr. Kent’s legal team by driving up litigation costs during the dispute.
https://litigationfinancejournal.com/apple-rejected-u-k-litigation-insurance-details/