The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has won a temporary pause on an order requiring it to respond to Apple’s requests for documents from 14 federal agencies, reports 9to5Mac.
In July the DoJ asked a federal court to reconsider a recent ruling that would allow the tech giant to to seek documents from 14 separate government agencies in the antitrust case against the company. Earlier that month it was reported that Apple had won a discovery fight in their ongoing 2024 Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, successfully blocking subpoenas they issued to 14 federal agencies—including the CIA, FBI, and NASA—that sought internal documents on how these agencies evaluate and purchase smartphones.
The subpoenas served to federal agencies were ruled overbroad and too burdensome, particularly because many requested documents involve classified or privileged material.
Then the DOJ, backed by declarations from officials at several federal agencies and offices, asked Judge Jose Linares to reconsider that decision. Notably, neither the Commerce Department nor the FTC submitted a declaration.
In its motion, the DOJ argued that Linares applied the wrong legal standard by treating the agencies as parties to the case rather than non-parties entitled to greater protection from discovery.
n a decision issued earlier today, Linares granted the DOJ’s bid to pause the discovery order while District Judge Julien Neals considers the government’s appeal over whether it can be required to respond to Apple’s discovery requests for documents, notes 9to5Mac.
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Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today