Lawyers representing Apple suggested Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, was acting as a stalking horse for Microsoft and withholding evidence.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The iPhone maker made the accusations Wednesday night in a filing asking a judge to make an adverse credibility finding against Lori Wright, an Xbox executive who testified in the trial on behalf of Epic. That would mean the judge could ignore her testimony.
Apple asked for such a ruling earlier, but upped its accusations in the new filing. “A reasonable observer might wonder whether Epic is serving as a stalking horse for Microsoft,” Apple said. “Microsoft shielded itself from meaningful discovery in this litigation by not appearing as a party or sending a corporate representative to testify.”
In the Wednesday filing, Apple also complained that Microsoft withheld internal communications and held discussions with Epic about its decision to circumvent Apple’s payment rules. “Such internal communications are particularly relevant in light of Microsoft’s relationship with at least five Epic witnesses and the potential that Microsoft is using Epic as a proxy plaintiff in litigation that it refuses to prosecute in its own name,” Apple wrote.
MacDailyNews Take: Certainly, it’s not unimaginable that Microsoft, soundly ass-kicked and thoroughly embarrassed by Apple in smartphones, tablets, music, online app stores, etc. etc. etc., would use a patsy (just look at Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney’s weak, wholly unconvincing testimony in court) to shield itself while attempting to make a hit.