We previously reported that Apple wants to have its court-appointed monitor from the iBooks antitrust case removed, and now we have some insight as to why. A new report by The Wall Street Journal claims that Michael Bromwich, the lawyer that was appointed to monitor Apple, has abused his role by investigating aspects of the company that have nothing to do with the case. In the process, Bromwich has charged Apple over $2.65 million for his services.
From The Wall Street Journal :
Mr. Bromwich gains a "much better understanding of Apple's business organization and operations" in an October 2014 update as he is given access to all senior executives with the exception of the design and marketing divisions. He even probes units such as Siri voice recognition, the maps group and hardware engineering. None of this is relevant to antitrust.
Not only was Bromwich inspecting units with no relevance to his stated purpose, but he also violated his role as a neutral party:
Mr. Bromwich's invoices to Apple, which were initially redacted, show that for at least four months he was closely collaborating with DoJ lawyers and state Attorneys General. He puts in three hours on Oct. 21, 2013, for example, with an entry to "prepare for call w state AGs; Conf call w CT, NY and TX AGs." He notches 5.75 hours on Nov. 15, 2013 on matters such as "conf call w DOJ and States re CA trip," and 2.75 hours on Dec. 29, 2013 on "review DOJ draft brief in opposition to motion to stay."
That last one refers to Apple's first attempt to remove Mr. Bromwich; in other words, he wasn't acting as a neutral court officer but as an agent of the prosecution—and then charging Apple for his trouble. Mr. Bromwich bills at $1,100 an hour. Apple can be forgiven for seeing him as an adversary and interloper, because he is.
None of this bodes well for Bromwich, as Apple is set to appeal his appointment in the Second Circuit Appeals Court next month. If you'd like to dive further into The Wall Street Journal's findings, you can do so from the source link below.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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