A federal appeals court has denied Apple’s attempt to discontinue e-books antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich’s operations until the court hands down a ruling on a request to remove the external compliance monitor.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit filed an order on Monday denying Apple’s motion to halt Bromwich’s operations until the court hands down a ruling on a request to remove the external compliance monitor. The decision, first spotted by Reuters, comes less than a week after initial arguments began earlier in February.
The court ruled that Apple failed to present evidence of irreparable harm, saying the company failed to adequately prove that Bromwich was overreaching his authority and the scope of his investigation.
However, Apple did score one for the home team, when the three-judge panel reinforced the narrow scope of the monitorship. While Apple executives and board members are to be instructed about the antitrust compliance stipulations, and what they mean, Bromwich is not allowed to “investigate whether such personnel were in fact complying with the antitrust or other laws.” This has been a sore point for Apple.
Bromwich was installed as overseer by Judge Denis Cote following her finding that Apple was culpable in colluding with book publishers to fix e-book pricing.
