14 DAY TRIAL // A monitor appointed by a judge to oversee Apple’s antitrust e-book case is reportedly charging the iPhone maker a whopping $1,100 (€808) per hour to assist with the case.
Bloomberg reports that Apple this week filed a complaint in a Manhattan federal court alleging that “Of all known past Apple matters, no lawyer has had a higher rate than Michael Bromwich’s proposed hourly fee of $1,100.”
Apple reportedly said in its filing that “Bromwich’s invoice for his first two weeks of work was $138,432, the equivalent of 75 percent of a federal judge’s annual salary.”
The Cupertino giant called this “unprecedented in Apple’s experience,” adding that it believes Bromwich is “taking advantage of the fact that there is no competition here or, in his view, any ability on the part of Apple, the subject of his authority, to push back on his demands.”
Melissa Schwartz, who is colleagues with Mr. Bromwich (at the Bromwich Group), told the press that he was “out of the country and unavailable for comment” (probably enjoying a fruity cocktail on a remote island).