More SCOTUS decisions

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 14th of May, 2019. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Megan Basham.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Quick Supreme Court update. The justices handed down three rulings yesterday. 

First, a big blow to tech giant Apple.

If you use an iPhone you know you can only buy apps from Apple’s app store. And Apple charges developers a 30 percent commission on those sales. A group of unhappy iPhone users claimed that’s a market monopoly, and they should get to sue as a class under anti-trust law.

In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled the lawsuit can proceed. You may remember, my vacationing cohost Mary Reichard said after she heard the oral arguments in the case that the justices seemed sympathetic to the consumers on this one.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court’s four liberal justices in rejecting Apple’s appeal to block the lawsuit.

What happens next is the case heads back to the lower courts. If this ultimately succeeds, it could set important precedents for regulating online marketplaces.

BASHAM: In another 5-4 decision the court ruled states cannot be sued in another state’s court. This case involved a tax fight between computer chip inventor Gilbert Hyatt and the state of California. Hyatt sued the California tax agency and won millions in damages. But that was in Nevada state court. California claimed sovereign immunity from suits filed in another state. The Supreme Court’s conservative justices agreed.

EICHER: And finally, the court ruled in favor of a whistleblower who sued under the False Claims Act. The court said the whistleblower was not bound by the act’s statute of limitations and can proceed with his case. The ruling was unanimous.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) A March 15, 2019 view of the Supreme Court in Washington. 

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