Apple urges judge to dismiss the DOJ's speculative antitrust suit

Apple has argued in court that the Department of Justice's case against it is baseless, while the DOJ says prove it at trial.

As expected, Apple made its case to US District Judge Julien Neals in Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday, November 21, 2024. Its lawyers are seeking a dismissal of the antitrust accusations that it has consistently decried since the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought it in March 2024.

Now according to Bloomberg, both sides have presented their argument over whether the case should continue. Apple attorney Devora Allon said:

"The fundamental problem with the government's allegations is that they don't include facts that link the challenged conduct to any harm to smartphone users. The government's theory of harm really boils down to speculation about what smartphone developers [and consumers would do under the alleged conduct]."

In response, Justice Department attorney Jonathan Lasken said that the DOJ is concerned about how Apple behaves to rivals:

"Apple is litigating a ghost complaint based on rules of law that don't exist. Apple can compete on the merits. What Apple can't do is use monopoly to prevent others from competing. If you use [a baseball bat] to break your neighbor's window, it becomes illegal."

What happens next

The hearing took three hours, and after it Judge Neals said of Apple that "Counsel addressed pretty much every question I had."

"We're really going to put a lot of effort into having a decision to you by January," continued the judge.

The DOJ is in an easier situation than Apple — it only has to convince the federal judge that its case is plausible enough that it should go to a trial. Apple has to convince him that there is no basis for the case.

Apple does have a strong argument since it is no longer doing any of the monopolistic practices that it is accused of. The DOJ's case is sufficiently poor that it is close to certain Apple will win — eventually.

For now, however, because of the DOJ's lower bar to having the trial continue, it's unlikely that it will be dismissed. That's perhaps especially so since the case against Apple is being brought by multiple US states as well as the DOJ.

If it is dismissed, that decision will presumably be appealed. So while January 2025 is only weeks away, the likelihood is that this case will continue for several years.