Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

Federal Court Denies Effort by Apple, Google, and Other High-Tech Companies to Withhold Documents

Today, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh issued a case management order in the class action litigation charging that Adobe Systems Inc., Apple Inc., Google Inc., Intel Corporation, Intuit Inc., Lucasfilm Ltd., and Pixar violated antitrust laws by conspiring to suppress compensation for their employees.

In the order, Judge Koh denied defendants' motion to stay discovery in part. Importantly, Judge Koh ordered defendants to produce by November 30, 2011, certain documents relating to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation of these practices, including documents the defendants turned over to the DOJ.

Judge Koh also set a litigation schedule, culminating in a jury trial date set for June 10, 2013. A copy of the order is attached.

"The Court's order represents an important step in ultimately holding Adobe, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar accountable for conspiring to fix the pay of their software engineers and other high-tech employees," stated Joseph R. Saveri, counsel for plaintiffs. "As confirmed by the DOJ's investigation, defendants entered into secret "no-solicitation" agreements that violated antitrust laws. These companies owe their tremendous successes to the sacrifices and hard work of their employees. We look forward to the opportunity to prove our clients' claims at trial and to recover the money that they would have been paid had the defendants not conspired to eliminate competition for our clients' services."

Learn more about the High Tech Workers Class Action Lawsuit.