Appellate

On January 30, 2026, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Cravath client Dfinity Foundation (“Dfinity”) in a putative securities class action related to Dfinity’s Internet Computer Protocol (“ICP”) master governance tokens. Dfinity is a Swiss not‑for‑profit entity working to create a smart contract platform designed to power blockchain versions of popular internet applications.

On December 11, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s finding that Apple Inc. (“Apple”) committed civil contempt based on Apple’s willful violations of a permanent injunction that Cravath client Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) previously secured against Apple. The Court of Appeals affirmed several contempt sanctions imposed by the District Court against Apple, while modifying or reversing in part certain other sanctions and remanding to the District Court for further proceedings. The Court also unanimously affirmed the denial of Apple’s request to vacate or modify the permanent injunction based on recent California state court decisions and denied Apple’s request to reassign the case to a different district judge on remand.

On July 31, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed a jury verdict won by Cravath client Epic against Google in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that Google has engaged in illegal anticompetitive behavior in the distribution of mobile apps and in the handling of in‑app payments. The Ninth Circuit also unanimously affirmed the district court’s permanent injunction against Google. The district court’s injunction prohibits Google from providing benefits to phone manufacturers, app developers and others in exchange for favoring the Google Play Store, prohibits Google from requiring the use of its own payment solution and also requires Google to take steps to restore competition, such as carrying other app stores on the Google Play Store.

On April 30, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Cravath client Epic Games, Inc.’s (“Epic”) motion to enforce a nationwide permanent injunction against Apple, Inc.’s (“Apple”) anti‑steering policies for in‑app payments. Epic secured the injunction to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and fees, following a three‑week bench trial in May 2021, in which Cravath also represented Epic. In its April decision, the Court ruled that Apple was in willful violation of the 2021 injunction, having thwarted the injunction’s goals and continued its anticompetitive conduct. The Court noted that “Apple willfully chose not to comply with this Court’s Injunction. It did so with the express intent to create new anticompetitive barriers which would, by design and in effect, maintain a valued revenue stream; a revenue stream previously found to be anticompetitive. That it thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation.” As a result, the Court enjoined Apple from implementing its new restrictions and fees that violated the injunction, effective immediately.

On January 6, 2025, The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”) and FuboTV Inc. (“Fubo”) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, forming a combined virtual MVPD company of which Disney will become the majority owner.

On February 13, 2025, Cravath published the latest edition of its Finance & Capital Markets Quarterly Review, which provides insight into practical points, key takeaways and relevant developments related to the bond, equity and loan markets and restructuring activity during the fourth quarter of 2025. Highlights from this edition include:

On February 13, 2026, Cravath published the latest edition of its Quarterly Review, which provides insight into practical points, key takeaways and relevant developments across the M&A, activism, tax, regulatory and corporate governance landscape. This edition covers:

On January 26, 2026, Cravath partner Wes Earnhardt participated in the Copyright Society’s 2026 Winter Meeting, which was held from January 24‑26 in Rancho Mirage, California and sought collaborative exchange and discourse on the most critical, cutting‑edge issues in copyright and intellectual property. Wes spoke on a panel entitled “Old Claims, Ongoing Risks: Repose in a Post‑Petrella World,” which reviewed the evolving copyright litigation landscape in the decade since the Supreme Court’s landmark Petrella v. MGM decision. The discussion covered topics including whether alternative equitable defenses have filled the laches gap, the impact of the Court’s recent Warner Chappell v. Nealy ruling on legal certainty and the practical risks associated with the broadened scope of legacy claims.

On December 9, 2025, Cravath partner Gary A. Bornstein was featured as a 2025 Competition MVP by Law360, which highlighted his representation of Epic Games in separate antitrust lawsuits against Apple and Google, including securing a District Court decision that Apple violated an anti‑steering injunction, and a victory at the Ninth Circuit affirming Epic Games’ antitrust trial victory and permanent injunction against Google. In the profile, Gary discussed the satisfaction of winning difficult cases, explaining it’s “always a more gratifying victory when the outcome is not assured.” Gary also addressed the challenges of antitrust work, noting that antitrust issues are “company‑defining” and that “working as outside counsel on those cases is really counseling the senior people at the company on issues that go to the heart of their business. It requires you to have a commercial perspective on what's going on.” 

On December 6, 2025, Cravath partner Benjamin Gruenstein presented to The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, a collaboration between public- and private-sector litigation professionals and the Basel Institute on Governance that aims to promote worldwide access to solutions in cases of economic crime. Ben delivered a talk entitled “Evolving Standards for Sentence Reduction: Interpreting § 3582(c)(1)(A) Post-First Step Act,” in which he discussed developments in the law governing compassionate release, including his recent argument before the Supreme Court in Fernandez v. United States.