A California federal judge dismissed — for now — a lawsuit accusing Apple of unfairly banning apps from its App Store, ruling that the tech giant has “considerable discretion” in deciding which apps make the cut.
In his Wednesday order, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White granted Apple’s motion to dismiss claims by Sarafan Mobile Ltd., a video editing app developer whose apps, including Reely, were removed from the platform. Sarafan alleged breach of contract, business interference, and antitrust violations, but Judge White found the complaint lacked key legal support.
The court gave Sarafan three weeks to file another amended complaint.
Apple’s Broad Power Under Developer Agreements
Judge White pointed to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement (DPLA) and Apple Developer Agreement (ADA), both of which grant Apple sweeping authority to terminate developer accounts.
“The covenant of good faith and fair dealing does not alter Apple’s right to terminate the agreement for any or no reason,” he wrote, emphasizing Sarafan had no reasonable expectation of indefinite access to the App Store.
Apple revoked Sarafan’s developer account in 2023, citing concerns of potential spam and fraud after business partners of Sarafan’s founder, Viktor Seraleev, created a separate account under a different entity. Apple concluded the situation was not a mix-up, leaving the ban in place.
