Apple has failed to persuade the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to block a class action lawsuit accusing the company of monopolizing the market for iPhone apps and keeping prices artificially high. The court's decision on May 24 allows millions of App Store users to pursue billions of dollars in alleged damages. This ruling follows a February decision by a California federal judge that permitted consumers to band together in the lawsuit. The case will now proceed to discovery and potentially to trial. The lawsuit alleges antitrust violations.