Discovery in the Crosshairs
The US Department of Justice has filed a request with a court to re-evaluate a recent ruling that would let Apple gather records from 14 federal agencies as part of the discovery process in its 2024 antitrust case. The ruling was previously rejected by Judge Jose Linares, a retired federal judge who is currently serving as a special discovery master. The judge dismissed the government’s attempt to block Apple’s data requests.
According to Apple, if these documents show that the agencies chose Apple products for their security, privacy, or other features, they could be used to challenge the DOJ’s antitrust claims. On the other hand, the government insists that Apple’s requests are not relevant and may risk exposing sensitive or classified information.
The Legal Back-and-Forth
Initially, Judge Linares supported Apple’s request, stating that the documents were relevant and that the government had not provided strong enough arguments against the request. Now the DOJ, with support from officials of multiple federal agencies, is asking Judge Linares to reconsider his decision and potentially change it.
The DOJ claims that Linares used the wrong legal standard, treating the 14 agencies as participants in the case, rather than third parties with more protection under Rule 45. According to the government, the court must make an individual evaluation of each agency’s relationship to the case before determining their discovery obligations.
The DOJ states that Judge Linares did not perform this individual evaluation before deciding that all 14 agencies should face broader discovery requirements. Neither the Commerce Department nor the FTC submitted statements in support of the government’s motion, which is notable.
In addition to asking Linares to reverse his decision, the DOJ and the involved agencies are requesting that the court extend the deadline to appeal until after the reconsideration process. If Linares maintains his original decision, the appeal period will begin, allowing the government to challenge the decision in front of the district judge handling the case.
The legal battle takes place in the context of rumors of a possible settlement between Apple and the DOJ, which could lead to the resolution of the broader antitrust case. Some reports indicate that both parties are considering terms that might conclude the lawsuit without further court action.