Court Denies Apple’s Motion to Stay in Search Engine Monopoly Case
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday denied Apple’s motion to stay proceedings in a case about Google’s search dominance, swiftly shutting down the company’s ability to participate in the future remedies phase of the case.
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“Apple (again) fails to provide any specifics,” said District Judge Amit Mehta. "It does not explain why party status is necessary to offer the evidence it wishes to present, or even how that evidence will differ from what the court already heard during the liability phase. It likewise fails to identify any daylight between the remedy Google has proposed and its own preferred remedy. Lacking such information, the court cannot find that Apple will suffer the 'certain and great' harm required to justify a stay.”
Case 20-03010 accuses Google of being an internet gatekeeper, using consumer information and other anticompetitive tactics to maintain a search engine monopoly, according to the complaint by the U.S. attorney general and several state AGs. The lawsuit names other companies complicit in Google’s monopoly, such as Apple’s contract to make Google the default search engine on its Safari browser.
Last Thursday, Apple, an intervenor-defendant in the case, filed an emergency motion for stay or, alternatively, miscellaneous relief on the grounds that the company “will suffer irreparable harm." The company asked the court to suspend the proceedings while it appeals the decision denying Apple the ability to participate in the remedies trial to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The district court previously ruled against Apple's motion to intervene as a defendant, citing the untimeliness of the motion but allowing Apple to participate in the case as amicus curiae.