CARY – Apple is on the counterattack against Cary-based Epic Games over an intensifying legal battle about fees, dismissing the notion that Epic is a small company acting as a “Robin Hood.”

″Epic’s lawsuit is nothing more than a basic disagreement over money,” Apple says in a filing made Tuesday with the District Court for the Northern District of California.

“Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store.”

Epic is valued at more than $14 billion after a recent billion-dollar capital fund raiser and is the publisher of the global hit game “Fortnite.”

Apple is valued at $1.96 trillion.

“Epic’s flagrant disregard for its contractual commitments and other misconduct has caused significant harm to Apple,” Apple said in the filing.  “Left unchecked, Epic’s conduct threatens the very existence of the iOS ecosystem and its tremendous value to consumers.”

The filing runs 67 pages.

Epic and Apple are locked in a legal battle over 30% fees Apple charges for ecommerce generated through its app store. Epic also has sued Google over fees it charges.

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Apple says Epic has breached contract terms and is seeking damages.

In a tweet over the weekend, Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney (himself a billionaire) said the dispute with Apple could destroy his company.

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The judge hearing the case prohibited Apple from terminating Epic’s entire presence in the app store, meaning developers still have access to Epic’s game engine Unreal which has customers around the world.

“Apple is now going one step further, asking the court to hold Epic liable for breach of contract and other counts, seeking restitution of all money Fortnite collected through its payment system, and seeking a permanent injunction banning its external payment mechanism in all apps, including Fortnite,” CNBC reports.

Epic declined comment.