U.S. judge Denise Cote said she felt troubled that Apple could be forced to only pay a $70 million settlement in a price manipulation law suit , instead of the $450 million she initially proposed.
Apple consistently denied the "false accusations," but still received an injunction. The court asked the company to refund up to $450 million to consumers affected by the price manipulation. In response to the ruling, Apple brought the case to the appeals court. According to Reuters, if the appeals court favors Apple and asks Cote to revisit the case, the tech giant will only have to refund up to $70 million. This is what Cote described as "most troubling."
"I'm concerned about the terms of the settlement," she said.
Last year, Cote ruled that Apple conspired with HarperCollins, MacMillan Publishers, Penguin Books, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette Book Group in 2009 to manipulate the retail price of e-books, in a stand against Amazon, the largest seller of e-readers at the time. The Cupertino-based company allegedly violated the antitrust law by eliminating price competition in its iBookstore. Apple reportedly arranged a meeting with the publishers to increase their prices, and give 30 percent of the sales to Apple.
Cote argued reducing the settlement amount could be unfair for consumers. But lawyer Steve Berman, stated he was positive the appeals court won't reverse the decision.
"We thought, given that unlikely scenario and the legal risk we would face, it would be a good outcome for consumers," he told Reuters.
Apple also reportedly agreed to an out-of-court settlement, despite chief executive Tim Cook's previous statement that the company is not considering it, BBC News reported.
