In lawsuits over casino-style apps brought separately against Google, Apple and Facebook, plaintiffs lawyers took a gamble: They wanted to consolidate the dozens of cases and appoint themselves as the leadership team.
All three tech companies have agreed to parts of the plan but also objected to such a “Frankenstein proceeding.” In filings on Monday, the defendants raised concerns about sharing confidential information with their competitors, intermixing different legal theories and creating a bloated leadership team that could result in substantial attorney fees.
As the litigation has progressed, “Apple is concerned that different actions brought by different plaintiffs against different defendants, Google and Facebook, could effectively become consolidated with the Apple MDL, creating a Frankenstein proceeding that threatens to destroy the efficiency and benefits of the Apple MDL and risk the disclosure of Apple’s confidential and proprietary information,” Apple attorney John Gibson, of DLA Piper in Los Angeles, said.
