Apple, Google renew bid to settle antitrust hiring case

Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOGL) reached a new settlement over claims they and other Silicon Valley companies conspired to not hire from each other after a judge concluded their first proposal didn't offer enough money for employees.

The agreement, whose terms weren't disclosed in a court filing today, again hinges on the approval of U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California, who in August rejected the initial $324.5 million accord as too small. Koh said the companies, which also include Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) and Intel Corp. (INTC), should pay at least $380 million given "ample evidence" of antitrust violations that could result in damages of more than $9 billion if the case went to a jury trial.

The companies, after resuming negotiations with the workers, in September asked a federal appeals court to overrule Koh's rejection of the initial settlement, saying she overstepped her authority.

Kelly Dermody, a lawyer for the workers, and Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Santa Clara, California-based Intel, each confirmed the new settlement today while declining to discuss details. Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple.

One of the objections to the original settlement was filed by former Adobe employee Michael Devine, who left the company in 2008 and was a lead plaintiff in the case. Devine's lawyer, Daniel Girard, argued that if workers hadn't initially agreed to settle for an average payout of about $3,572, they could have won damages at trial of as much as $141,331 each.

Rejections of antitrust settlements are rare, especially when objections are based on the amount and not a legal technicality.

Experts said though Koh was legally required to consider the best interests of all the 64,000 engineers and other technical workers involved, she took seriously her public interest obligation to advance antitrust law and guard against plaintiffs' lawyers being bought off by defendants.