Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Sure, “hot-tubbing” sounds fun, but in a court context, it’s just a judge encouraging lawyers to argue — which is how Epic v. Apple ended today. Not with a bang but with a quarrel.
In honor of the trial’s final day, a raft of spare lawyers were in the gallery, representing Epic and Apple. But everyone who spoke to the judge — Epic’s Gary Bornstein and the three lawyers who handled the end of the case for Apple, Dan Swanson, Veronica Smith Moye, and Richard Doren — had their backs to the gallery the entire time.
Throughout the trial, Epic’s general strategy appears to have been to stuff the record as full of evidence as possible — just in case it’s needed on the inevitable appeal. To do that, Epic sacrificed telling a coherent story.
