June 16 (Reuters) - Apple ( AAPL ) must face a proposed class

action accusing the iPhone maker of illegally monopolizing the

market for digital storage and causing consumers to overpay for

its iCloud service, a federal judge in California ruled on

Monday.

U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee in San Jose, California, said

the plaintiffs in the case had sufficiently alleged Apple ( AAPL )

violated antitrust law by requiring iPhone customers to use its

iCloud data storage service to back up core data and device

setting files.

Lee's new order revived the plaintiffs' lawsuit after she

dismissed an earlier version of it. She said the consumers added

substantial new allegations about the importance of data storage

for all iPhone files, including restricted ones like settings

data.

Apple ( AAPL ) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company has denied any wrongdoing.

An attorney for the consumers had no immediate comment on

the ruling.

A Los Angeles resident who said she was paying $2.99 monthly

for an iCloud storage plan filed the lawsuit last year.

Apple ( AAPL ) allows third-party storage for photos and videos but

not for some users' data files that are needed to "restore" an

Apple ( AAPL ) device.

Apple ( AAPL ) has defended its policy as designed to guarantee high

levels of security. The company also urged Lee to dismiss the

plaintiff's claims as untimely. Plaintiffs generally face a

four-year window to bring claims under U.S. antitrust law.

In her ruling, Lee said it was premature to dismiss the

claims as time-barred, but suggested the issue could be

revisited later in the litigation.

The plaintiff's lawyers want to represent a nationwide class

of at tens of millions of consumers who purchased iCloud storage

plans.

The case is Felix Gamboa v. Apple Inc ( AAPL ), U.S. District Court

for the Northern District of California, No. 5:24-cv-01270.

For plaintiffs: Steve Berman and Ben Harrington of Hagens

Berman Sobol Shapiro

For Apple ( AAPL ): Belinda Lee and Sarah Ray of Latham & Watkins

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