DOJ wins temporary stay on Apple’s 14-agency discovery demand
Special Master Jose Linares stayed his July order requiring the DOJ to produce records from 14 federal agencies while Judge Julien Neals reviews the government’s appeal.
The U.S. Department of Justice has won a temporary stay of a discovery order that would have required it to collect documents from 14 federal agencies in its antitrust case against Apple.
In a September 10, 2026 order, Special Discovery Master Jose L. Linares granted the government’s motion to pause his July 14 ruling while District Judge Julien X. Neals decides the DOJ’s appeal. The stay freezes “any and all discovery obligations” created by that July order — it does not reverse Apple’s underlying win on the discovery request.
9to5Mac first flagged the decision; the full order is posted with that report (PDF).
What Apple wants
Apple argues the agency records could show how federal buyers evaluate privacy and security when setting smartphone policy and purchasing devices — material it says supports its defense that some challenged practices are legitimate product differentiators, not anticompetitive restrictions.
The agencies named in prior coverage of the dispute include the CIA, Commerce, Homeland Security, Defense, FBI, FTC, GSA, Labor, NASA, NSA, ODNI, OMB, OPM, and State.
Why the stay was granted
Linares wrote that the DOJ still faces an “uphill battle” on likelihood of success, but that factor alone was not enough to deny a stay. He found the government’s irreparable-harm argument persuasive: forcing the agencies to do the “purportedly extensive” collection work would be “simply unfair” if Judge Neals later reverses the July order.
He also rejected Apple’s claim that a pause would unfairly prejudice the company. The case, he said, remains “very much in the earlier phases of discovery,” and the parties can continue other discovery while the appeal is decided. The public-interest factor was treated as net-neutral.
What happens next
With the July 14 order stayed:
- Apple may respond to the government’s appeal before Judge Neals
- The DOJ then has seven calendar days to reply
- Judge Neals will decide whether to uphold or reverse the original discovery order
Until that ruling, the 14-agency production remains on hold. The broader Apple antitrust litigation continues on other tracks.
Sources: Special Master stay order (PDF), 9to5Mac.