U.S. District Court for New Jersey
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US District Judge Michael Farbiarz says conflict of interest prevents him from is overseeing the Justice Department's lawsuit against Apple, so U.S. District Judge Julien Neals is taking over the case.
The US Department of Justice has sued Apple along with 15 states, alleging that the company is monopolizing part of the smartphone market. The multi-year battle has barely begun, but change is already happening.
District Judge Michael Farbiarz was forced to recuse himself from the case due to mandatory legal requirements, Reuters reported. He did not specify what exactly the conflict of interest is, but usually it involves a close connection with the participants in the case through family or personal connections.
There is nothing remarkable about this change. A new judge has taken over, Circuit Judge Julien Neals.
The two justices likely hold similar views, as both were appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden. The case is being fought in New Jersey because of previous monopoly cases that relied on a much smaller market share to define a monopoly, which will help the DOJ's case.
Much of the claim appears frivolous, based on a limited understanding of technological implementations or on outdated rules that Apple has already ceded. It's unclear what the outcome of the lawsuit might be at this early stage, but one thing is certain: it will be years before an actionable verdict is reached.
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