Facebook and Apple are arguing over document requests in the ongoing legal battle Epic v. Apple, according to a new cover letter filed in court today. Facebook is involved because Facebook executive Vivek Sharma is to testify on behalf of Epic.
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Apple wants a “limited set of documents” that are needed for a fair review of Sharma, which intends to testify about Apple’s restrictions on iOS app distribution, the App Store process, and Facebook’s interactions with Apple, but Facebook doesn’t want to produce the documents. which Apple requests.
Apparently, there are more than 17,000 documents related to Sharma that Apple considers relevant in this case, but Facebook says that the production of tens of thousands of documents is an “untimely, unjust and unjustified request to rediscover the facts.” Facebook has already provided Apple with more than 1,600 documents, including 200 involving Sharma, but Apple doesn’t think that’s enough.
According to Apple, Facebook has continually ignored document requests and used delay tactics. Apple says it has sent several citations to Facebook since December and has met with Facebook several times to narrow the scope of the requests, but Facebook has refused to produce many of the documents in question.
Apple is fed up with Facebook and eventually agreed not to follow additional documents unless Facebook executives testified, but Epic added Sharma to its witness list, and Apple wants the documents again.
Despite Facebook’s knowledge of the time constraints in this action, it stalled for five days, allegedly because “there is an unavoidable technical processing time” until the production load is investigated and it finally acknowledged on 29 March that he did not intend to produce more documents.
Facebook claims that Apple waited to request the documents after the end of the discovery period (and before Apple confirmed that Sharma will be a witness), making the timing of the request “inappropriate”. Facebook also claims that Apple is requesting additional documents unrelated to iOS 14 and Facebook’s response to the transparency of app tracking, which is irrelevant to the case.
If Apple believed that production was insufficient in any way, it had every opportunity to rectify to constrain within 7 days of the completion of the discovery, as required by Court Rules. Apple has chosen not to do so, making this untimely move. Instead, claiming the surprise by Epic’s revelation of Mr. Sharma as a witness to the trial – even though Epic’s complaint quoted him by name – Apple now demands that Facebook review and produce a huge number of additional documents.
Apple is asking the court to order Facebook to comply with Apple’s request for Facebook documents, so that “Apple has a fair opportunity to question the new witness of the recently revealed lawsuit.” Facebook claims that it should not be forced to “review tens of thousands of other documents because Apple wants to go fishing for some additional theoretical material,” and therefore the court should reject the request.